Women Gain Weight After Marriage: Didn't Need a Study to Tell Me That

Hey - bubble skirts were stylish in 1991.

A few years ago I found my junior prom dress in a back closet at my mom's house: and it still fit. Almost twenty years later. 

Now, not so much. 

It happens, ladies. 

And apparently research has confirmed this. Women gain weight after marriage, says a new survey from Ohio State University. (Click here for the university's press release.) 

The study looked at people in their first years of marriage, and found it was not uncommon for women to put on a few pounds. This was especially true for women over the age of 30. 

The researchers didn't really ask the question, "Why?" but I think we can all pose a few suggestions: 

A container of yogurt or a frozen burrito might have been a meal in our single days ... but no more. Whether we're doing the cooking, being served, or going out to eat, there's more food in front of us now. And who can resist?

Additionally, many of us eat to keep up with our husbands. He's having a second serving, so we feel permission to do the same. Ice cream for dessert? Sure! Unfortunately, most of us don't have metabolisms that can keep up with the extra calories we intake, and eventually it starts to show. 

Add in pregnancy and the normal aging process, and frankly I'm surprised the research only showed a few pounds of weight gain. (Of course, the study only looked at women in their first years of marriage.)

I'm not sure if we should find this study reassuring (look, I'm not the only one!) or depressing (it's practically unavoidable!). But I am fairly certain worrying about it isn't going to take the weight off or help me feel better about it. So ladies, three cheers for happy marriages, self-esteem that isn't tied to the way I look, and occasional slices of cheesecake. 

PS - Men, it seems, saved their significant weight gain for after divorce. Men tend to actually be healthier in marriage (wives, it seems, convince husbands to have salads every once in awhile, and visit a doctor when they aren't feeling well).