Some people can't wait to get married. Many ups and downs can come when you take that next step, and for men, one of those might be the numbers on a scale.
Research presented at the European Congress on Obesity found that married men are more than three times as likely to be obese as unmarried men. That’s a big jump, and it wasn’t the same story for women.
The study, conducted in Poland, looked at over 2,400 adults and found that marriage increased the odds of being overweight by 62% in men and 39% in women, per The Guardian. But when it came to actual obesity, only men showed a major spike. For women, the risk didn’t change much.
But it’s not just about food, it’s about everything marriage shifts: routines, expectations, social pressures, and who feels them most.
Researchers suggest that once men are married, they’re more likely to let go of appearance-related pressures. Portion sizes get bigger, workouts might slow down, and the pressure to impress fades, especially if their partner is doing most of the health managing. On the flip side, women still face ongoing societal pressure to “bounce back” or maintain their looks, even after the vows.
And this isn’t just a one-off finding. A 2024 Chinese study also backed up the trend, finding that male BMI increases for the first five years after marriage. As noted by The Guardian, a 2017 study from the University of Bath found similar results: married men gained weight consistently, while women’s weight stayed more stable. Joanna Syrda, a lecturer from the University of Bath, said the Warsaw study “confirms what I found in 2017: male BMI increases after marriage and decreases just before and after divorce."
"The main possible reasons are that single men looking for a partner have higher incentives and exert more effort to stay fit than those who are already or still married. And second, those in relationships may eat more regular meals and/or richer foods due to social obligations, which may arise because of marriage," she continued.
But the Polish study also found some unique pressure points for women. Things like depression, low health literacy, and living in smaller towns or villages were strongly linked to weight gain - but didn’t impact men the same way. So while marriage alone may not cause obesity in women, other social stressors still weigh heavily.
So while marriage might mean love, stability, and tax write-offs, you might find your man squeezing into his pants a few years down the line.