Women who are in couples and have a child, fattened 4 kilos in ten years, while those in the partner and no children, increasing on average 1.8 kg. This is demonstrated by an investigation of the University of Queensland, Australia, which was devoted to analyzing the relationship between weight gain and motherhood. The investigation, which began in 1996 and was completed in 2006, followed up 6458 Australian women, aged 18 to 23 years.
The baby’s not his fault
While it is true that after having a child, women tend to gain weight, the study’s findings show that the marriage or dating life played a strong role. “We found that women who had a child within the period of ten years of the study gained more weight (up to 9 kilos for a 65 kilos) than those who had no children. However, these differences could be attributed to married life, explained study leaders.
Researchers from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health of the United States (English, U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health) recently reported that married life (either cohabitation or marriage) may increase the tendency to become obese, the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Something as simple as sharing the household, seems to be one of the most influential factors.
Certainly, there are programs typical of life as a couple in addition to providing fun, add calories, like watching a movie or a game together, while sharing snacks, sweets and drinks. With the arrival of children, in many cases is also growing social life. And everyone knows that meetings with family or friends often include snacks, meals and desserts.
Prevention is always better
Far from claiming to discourage women from having children or living together, these investigations are useful especially for women who are getting married or want to be mothers. Knowing that there is a tendency to gain weight, have the opportunity to anticipate and plan a healthy and active life. Whether two or three.