Friday, June 29, 2012
Bliss Continued from page 4 of conviction, according to Dr. Derek Griffith, one of the authors of the study. If men don’t like their wives’ food choices, they often make up for it when they are away from home. “The key to married men adopting a healthier diet is for couples to discuss and negotiate the new, healthier menu changes as a team,” he said. Typically, men and women tend to gain a small amount of weight after getting married; 10 to 15 percent of additional body weight is not unusual during the first two years of married life. “When you have these kinds of big life changes, your weight can go up,” said Dr. Dmitry Tumin, a sociologist at Ohio State University, who conducted an extensive study on the
subject. Tumin found that, on average, married women are 46 percent more likely to gain weight than women who remain single. Men are also more prone to weight gain after marriage but even more so after divorce. The takeaway from these studies is that couples have a tremendous influence on each other’s health — for better or worse. “Watching TV and snacking on junk food have become ‘complimentary behaviors’ for many people,” said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center. “It’s a perfect storm of unhealthy behavior.” The good news is that couples can encourage each other to make positive changes and support each other when sticking to a health regimen gets tough. Instead of trying to
“revolutionize” their entire lives, people should take on one or two manageable changes at a time. Instead of tossing out a spouse’s beloved stash of snack foods and replacing it with green vegetables, add a few more nutritious items here and there and allow for a phase-out period for the rest. The same goes for exercising. It makes no sense to start out with a bang when one or both partners haven’t been physically active for a while. Mutual encouragement and shared successes over time will lead to better results. Last but not least, it is extremely important to acknowledge and applaud each other’s progress. Being seen by one’s partner as attractive and desirable is a crucial element of marriage that never changes. — Timi Gustafson R.D. is a clinical dietitian (www. timigustafson.com).
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