by Ben Sissom

Created on: January 03, 2011

Instead of being titled “marriage increases the risk of obesity” it should read “complacency increases the risk of obesity”. Marriage gets a bad rap in being the main reason we gain weight in life, but the truth is many other factors lead to tipping the scales. Marriage is just the title to the story but there are many chapters within the book.

Are you Comfortable?

Being too comfortable once your married is a huge contributing factor to increasing the risk of obesity. How many people stop watching the amount of food they eat once they say “I do”? Many women tend to start eating portions that a man’s body needs instead of measuring out what she needs to stay fit, healthy and active.  Men and women have different body needs, and even though you can devour a large, pepperoni pizza the same as he can, maybe you shouldn’t? Conscious choices on portion control go out the window once you have found the man or women who will love you the way that you are, no matter how the number on the scale increases.

Has your activity level stopped since saying “I do”?

So you’ve made it passed the wedding, honeymoon and now you’ve moved into the nesting phase of your relationship.  Nesting is a great phase where you learn more about one another in the way of likes, and dislikes, quirks and daily routines.  This is also a place where we can lose control of the food portions, exercise and calorie control.  In this stage of marriage it seems our focus becomes more about the other person than ourselves which is a bad habit to begin, and an even harder one to quit.

Are you still putting yourself as a priority?

The reason marriage increases the risk of obesity is we stopped putting ourselves as a priority. If our spouse fell in love with us when we cared so much about our health, diet and lifestyle why wouldn’t you think they would want you to continue? Yet, we think the opposite. Prioritizing is not selfish but necessary! With obesity come depression, low self esteem and health issues all which can play a bigger factor in marriages failing than taking the time out to portion control or exercise.

Obesity & Marriage:

Save your marriage and reduce the risk of depression by working out together. Choosing to exercise and eat healthy from the beginning of the relationship will benefit you in the long run. You will both reduce the onset of depression, low self esteem, health issues and financial risks that are associated with obesity.

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