Skip to main content

Marriage may be bad for your physical fitness

People who stay single, or become single again by divorce, may be somewhat more physically fit than those in wedded bliss, a new study suggests. 

The research, which followed nearly 8,900 adults over several years, found that both men and women who got married during that time tended to experience a dip in cardiovascular fitness, as measured by treadmill tests.

In contrast, men who got divorced during the study saw a modest increase in their fitness levels.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology, do not prove that a change in marital status directly causes the change in fitness — for better or worse.

Still, researchers say the results support the notion that once people are married and, presumably, off the dating market, they tend to let themselves go a bit. But if they remain single or get divorced, they have more incentive to get in shape.

That's not to say that there's a huge fitness chasm between singles and married couples.
In this study, changes in marital status were related to only small changes in fitness, lead researcher Dr. Francisco B. Ortega, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, told Reuters Health in an e-mail.
He stressed that any one person's fitness levels depend on a complex mix of factors, including genetics, exercise habits, body composition and overall health.

But if the newly wedded are aware that their physical fitness could wane, they might pay more attention to keeping up an exercise routine, according to Ortega and his colleagues.

The findings are based on 6,900 men and 1,971 women who were followed for just over three years at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. They had physical exams, reported on their lifestyle habits and underwent treadmill tests to gauge their physical fitness.

When it came to marital status, the researchers found, women who remained single during the study period showed a small increase in their fitness levels over time. That gain was not seen among women who got married.
For their part, men who married showed a decline in fitness — but so did those who stayed single, though theirs was a smaller loss. For men, the differences were more apparent when the researchers looked at divorce and re-marriage.

Men who got divorced during the study showed a gain in fitness levels, while those who remained married saw no change. Meanwhile, men who were divorced at the outset showed a general decline in fitness over time — but the drop was steepest among those who got re-married.

There was no evidence of any divorce "benefit" among women. However, the researchers say one reason could be that there were far fewer women in the study than men, and only a small number of women changed their marital status during the follow-up period.

The researchers say the findings highlight the role of social factors in people's fitness levels.
"This study provides for the first time evidence that marital transitions are (an) important social stimulus that can influence fitness," Ortega said.

And that fits in with the general idea that major life transitions affect people's health habits, noted Dr. Steven N. Blair, a professor at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, who also worked on the study.
"Sometimes these effects are positive and sometimes negative," Blair said in an email.

"I think a message to the public is that they need to be aware of the possible effects of life transitions, and try to make plans to maintain a healthful lifestyle."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reasons Why Your Hips Hurt

Hips Don't lie Inside the Joint Each hip is a ball-and-socket joint. The ball is the top of your thighbone (femoral head). The socket (acetabulum) is in your pelvic bone. Smooth, slippery tissue called cartilage lets the ball and socket glide against each other when you move. A thin lining (synovium) tops the cartilage and makes a bit of synovial fluid, which further eases rubbing.  Tendons, ligaments, and muscles complete the joint. Osteoarthritis It’s the “wear and tear” type of arthritis that many people get in middle age. Cartilage on the ball end of the thighbone and in the hip socket slowly breaks down and causes grinding between bones. You’ll have stiffness, and you might feel pain in your crotch and at the front of your thigh that radiates to your knee and behind. It’s often worse after a hard workout or when you don’t move for a while. Rheumatoid Arthritis With RA, your immune system attacks parts of your body, which can include the syn...
Post a Comment
Read more

Anesthesia Before Age 2 Linked to Learning Problems

There are new concerns about an increased risk for learning problems in very young children exposed to general anesthesia during surgical procedures. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found a twofold increase in learning disabilities in children who had more than one exposure to general anesthesia with surgery before age 2. The study is published in the November issue of Pediatrics. The FDA requested and funded the study. Last spring, an FDA panel met to review the research examining the effect of early exposure to anesthesia on the developing brain. Following the meeting, FDA director of anesthesia and analgesia products Bob Rappaport, MD, wrote that additional studies are needed. He noted that "at present, there is not enough information to draw any firm conclusions" about the long-term impact of early exposure to general anesthesia on the brain. The new study adds to the evidence linking repeated exposure to general anesthesia very early i...
Post a Comment
Read more

FDA: 5 Death Reports for Monster Energy Drink

  The FDA is investigating reports of five deaths and a nonfatal heart attack in people who drank high- caffeine energy drinks made by the Monster Energy Company. Meanwhile, a Maryland couple has filed a wrongful death suit against the company, alleging that their product killed their 14-year-old daughter. They say Anais Fournier, 14, collapsed after drinking her second 24-ounce Monster Energy drink in two days. She died six days later. The reports are not proof that the drinks caused the deaths, but merely signal there might be a problem. Even if the deaths are determined to be caused by caffeine poisoning, the FDA will consider all sources of caffeine before blaming the deaths on the energy drink. In addition to caffeine, energy drinks contain other stimulants, including taurine and guarana , a caffeine-containing plant. Because energy drinks are sold as nutritional supplements, they are not regula...
Post a Comment
Read more