“Normal weight people whose spouses went from being normal weight to obese were more likely to become obese,” said Laura Cobb, who led the study as a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “This suggests that changes in one spouse are likely to also be reflected in the other spouse, likely because of similar changes in diet, physical activity or other behaviors that impact obesity,” Cobb disclosed.
Weight gain is an increase in body weight which could ultimately result to obesity, a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems.
Some health challenges that could arise from obesity include cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon).
In African societies, weight gain due to marriage is mostly experienced by women. This has been attributed to a whole lot of factors ranging from sexual to dietary. But, with this new research, both men and women are liable to obesity due to marriage.
