Marriage causes ‘significant risk’ to man’s overall health, study claims

A study has found that men tend to gain weight after getting married, which could pose a ‘significant risk’ to their health. The research, carried out in China, showed that men often start gaining weight within the first five years of marriage.

The study used data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey and focused on individuals aged 18 – 45. It found that marriage has “a significant effect” on a man’s body mass index (BMI), with an extra 5.2 percent of men becoming overweight after tying the knot and obesity rates increasing by 2.5 percent. Interestingly, this trend was not observed in women.

Shiwen Quan, from the Chinese Academy of Social Science, explained to Economics and Human Biology: “This phenomenon, commonly referred to as ‘happy fat’, has been substantiated by numerous cohort studies conducted in developed Western countries. After tying the knot, men often exercise less and eat more, and this leads to a higher BMI.”

He added: “Men are facing a significant risk of obesity as they age, so after marriage, it’s important that they don’t ‘let themselves go’ by maintaining healthy eating habits and exercising regularly. In contrast, there was no clear trend for female BMI after marriage.”

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Experts think this happens to people everywhere – and say health workers should give new husbands and wives tips on how to stay fit and not get ‘happy fat’. They also think that getting married is a good time to help people look after their weight. They suggest making plans for both men and women to stay healthy after they get married.

If you’ve put on weight after many years of being married, Doctor Michael Mosley has some advice. He’s been on British TV for a long time and says losing belly fat can be easy. He says if you stop eating one kind of food, you can start to lose weight fast.

He said: “It is possible to reduce it. Even the slimmest of people can suffer from belly fat. And often, the abdomen is one of the most dangerous places to store fat.” Dr. Mosley also said that “fat cells deep in your abdomen also known as ‘visceral fat’ are reluctant to let go of their energy stash.”

He explained: “To find the extra energy needed to fuel a small energy deficit or a standard gym session, your body will look to other reserves first, like your glutes. Fortunately, recent breakthroughs in medical and sports science have shown that it is possible to throw this gradient into reverse. You can lose belly fat, and you can lose it fast.”

Health guru Doctor Mosley advises that to really fight off tummy fat, it’s important to avoid foods that make your blood sugar jump up. He pointed out: “To make a serious impact on your belly fat, cutting out sugar spikes is key. A surprising number of ‘diet’ snacks and drinks are high in sugar and are marketed as diet foods because they happen to be low in fat.”

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