Singletons Vs Married Folk: Who’s Healthier?
Updated: Jan. 10, 2018
Can you blame your partner – or lack there of – for how healthy you are? We found some single vs married studies that suggest you can.
Single vs Married: What lifestyle choice is healthier?
Are marrieds healthier than their single friends? Or do single people healthier than those who are partnered off? Here’s is some surprising research that suggests whether you’ve tied the knot or not can affect your health. It is a single vs married health face-off!
Did you know that being in love releases these good-for-you hormones?
Single ladies, you don’t stop, get it, get it
That stereotype of single people being lonely and sad needs to be crushed. An analysis of research lead by a scientist at University of California-Santa Barbara found that single people are not only more determined and more conscious of personal development but also more fulfilled. Who says you’re moping at home eating a pint of ice cream? Not this study.
Self-care can be $$ – but not these indulgent ways to take care of yourself!
Maximum marriage benefits
Rather than assume everyone who gets married benefits the most health and wellbeing-wise, research from Ohio State University looked more specifically at who benefits the most. And they found that it is depressed people who gain the most. Consider that they may be more in need of emotional support and intimacy and would experience a greater boost in comparison.
Here is how to talk to your partner if they have depression.
Marriage protects your heart
Being married is good for your heart and we don’t mean in a romantic way. Those who are at a higher risk of heart disease or have experienced a heart attack are more likely to survive if they’re married. The researchers from Aston Medical School in Birmingham, United Kingdom, analyzed research and speculate that it may be the support of your spouse that may help protect the heart.
Weighing the marriage issue
In a study published in Social Science & Medicine, despite the notion that everyone packs on the pounds after one’s nuptials, researchers found that there was no change in BMI for women after marriage or becoming a parent. Men, however, do put on weight. Compared to unmarried men, married men had a higher BMI and weight approximately three pounds more. Becoming a parent also affects men’s weight for the first few years of parenthood.
Single vs married, and their heart health
Besides potentially helping you survive if you have a heart attack, marriage is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, one study found that if you’re married and under the age of 50, you have a 12 per cent reduced risk of cardiovascular disease compared to single people of the same age group.
Spousal support
Single vs married – married women just may have more time on this planet. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, which looked at the 10 cancers that are the leading causes of death, people are are married at the time of their cancer diagnosis are likely to live longer than those who are unmarried.
Happy wife (and husband), heavy life
If you’re happy and you’re married, gain some weight. We know that’s not how the children’s song goes, but a study published in the journal Health Psychology found that the more happy a married couple was in their first four years of marriage, the more weight they both gained. The couples were asked to rate their happiness on a scale, and their height and weight was also tracked, and the researchers found that for every unit increase in happiness, the married individual gained one-tenth of a BMI unit every six months.
Cheers! Married women are drinking up
When it comes to drinking habits, marriage benefits men more than women. Married men tend to drink less when compared to their single, widowed or divorced counterparts, whereas married women drink more often, according to research from University of Cincinnati. The researcher speculate that it’s the drinking habits of one’s spouse rubbing off on the other. So men benefit from marriage when it comes to drinking and health. Remember that moderate drinking is considered one drink a day for women; be watching for how often you’re whetting your whistle with those empty calories.
Single ladies just might have healthier habits
You can’t argue with statistics: A study published in the Journal of Women’s Health looked at physical measurements along with the women’s reports of their lifestyle habits and found that married women’s BMI increased, drank more, and had increased systolic blood pressure. For women who got divorced or separated, their waist size decreased, and their exercise and healthy eating habits improved.
Married or not – you be you
Regardless of what studies might suggest about the state of our health whether we are single vs married, the way to ensure you have a long and healthy life is to take care of yourself – and all researchers and health experts tend to agree with that.
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