Your partner may be secretly making you fat
Being in a relationship makes us pile on the pounds as we feel happy and secure in a loved-up couple, research shows.
Having a long-term partner is something most people crave, longing for the stability and intimacy it brings.
And you have someone to curl up under the duvet with when it rains, someone to cook you dinner and go halves with when ordering a pizza.
But a study lasting more than a decade has confirmed what many suspected – being in a relationship makes you fatter.
Conducted by the University of Queensland, Australia, researchers found being together could be a source of weight gain.
Analysing data from more than 15,000 people over ten years, they found those in a couple weighed on average 12.7 lbs. more than their single counterparts.
And those with a significant other also had an average weight gain of 3.9 lbs. per year.
The researchers said: “Marriage (or de-facto relationships) comes with spousal obligations such as regular family meals.
“While they may include more healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and less fast food, people often consume larger portion sizes and more calories in the company of others than they do alone, resulting in increased energy intake,” New Scientist reported.
It seems no longer going out on the pull every weekend resulted in people letting their appearance slide.
Lead author Dr. Stephanie Schoeppe told the magazine: “When couples don’t need to look attractive and slim to attract a partner, they may feel more comfortable in eating more, or eating more foods high in fat and sugar.”
And constantly having someone there to share takeaways, drink alcohol with or go out to dinner with sees the pounds pile up.
The study asked people about their lifestyle habits, including how active they are, how often they ordered food in and how much TV they watched.
While not all bad for couples, they found they ate more fruit and veg and smoked and binge drank less.