Study Finds Couples In The Happiest Relationships Tend To Care Less About One Personal Habit
Yan Krukau | Canva Nobody walks into a relationship thinking about their waistline. You're thinking about music and movie tastes, and whether or not they're going to annoy you in the morning.
I’m sure when you and your special someone became exclusive, there were certain things you knew you were taking on; otherwise, you probably wouldn’t have moved forward and started a relationship. You knew you were getting some baggage, trust issues, an overprotective parent, or a totally different taste in music. Who knows? But we bet you weren’t thinking of weight gain being on that list. Yes, we're talking about adding on relationship pounds.
Research finds that couples in the happiest relationships tend to care less about their physical shape and often gain weight together
Wright Brand Bacon / Unsplash
Most of us know about this phenomenon, but try to forget about it and focus on the positives instead. After all, why would you want to think about not fitting into your jeans after a year of being together, when you can think about being in love instead?
In a study conducted by the University of Queensland in Australia, researchers analyzed 10 years' worth of data involving over 15,000 people. The study found that, on average, people in happy relationships weighed 13 pounds more.
You’ve probably heard the age-old argument about why couples often gain weight together
For those who haven’t, when you’re with someone who has accepted you for who you are (and is favorable of you), you don’t feel the need to stay in great shape anymore. You may make it to the gym here and there, but not enough to post pictures on Instagram all summer. This excludes those who work out because they genuinely enjoy it and do it for themselves.
If you believe in silver linings, this same study found that happy couples tend to live healthier lifestyles in other ways, such as smoking less and eating less fast food. However, these healthier habits don’t matter as much if you consume a lot of alcohol (high in calories) and are inactive regularly.
Couples in happy relationships tend to be the ones who gain more weight, but there's another interesting finding: According to another study done by Southern Methodist University in Dallas, there’s a link between satisfaction and weight gain.
Researchers followed 200 newlyweds over the course of four years. Lead head researcher Andrea Meltzer said, “Satisfaction is positively associated with weight gain. More satisfied spouses tend to gain more weight, and less satisfied spouses tend to gain less weight.”
For those who believe in silver linings, if you’re a few pounds heavier now than you were before, chances are you’re in a happy relationship
Something to work toward is finding a good balance between the weight and the smiles. The next time your jeans feel a little snug after a cozy weekend in, remember not to automatically reach for the guilt.
Research suggests you might just be doing the whole relationship thing right. If a few extra pounds come with the territory of being genuinely content with someone, that's probably not the worst trade-off in the world.
Eric Webb is a national award-winning pop culture critic, arts & entertainment journalist, editor, and film programmer.
