How marriage actually reduces obesity risk: new study

So much for love handles!

The “happy weight” phenomenon suggests that contented couples tend to relent because they prefer to relax by watching Netflix and eating ice cream rather than sweating it out in the gym.

But new research from UCLA reports that high-quality marriages may actually protect against obesity, meaning strong emotional bonds may be as critical to physical health as diet and exercise.

“We’ve known for years that social relationships impact health, and supportive relationships can increase survival by up to 50 percent,” said the study’s lead author, Arpana Church, a neuroscientist at UCLA Health.

“The biological mechanisms that explain this link remain elusive,” she added. “Our study uncovers a new pathway that shows how marital and emotional support can actually influence obesity risk ‘deeply’.”

In the study, nearly 100 Los Angeles-area residents were evaluated from brain to base.

UCLA researchers looked at everything from their body mass index and eating patterns to their brain imaging, hormone levels, emotional support and stool quality.

The study’s authors determined that married people who experienced strong support had lower body mass indexes and fewer signs of food addiction than those whose marriages were less harmonious.

When shown images of food, people in unhappy marriages showed greater activity in their dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region that regulates appetite.

Bachelors and spinsters—with or without strong social support—did not show the same brain patterns.

A complex brain-gut communication system turns out to be key.

The happy couples experienced significant positive changes in tryptophan metabolites, which are produced in the gut and regulate inflammation, metabolism, immune responses and neurological function.

One notable metabolite is serotonin, a hormone that affects mood, sleep, and appetite.

Speaking of emotions, ecstatically engaged people also showed higher oxytocin levels than single people.

The so-called “love hormone” can reduce stress and blood pressure and even help wounds heal faster.

Church believes it improves areas of the brain involved in self-control while promoting gut health.

“Think of oxytocin as the conductor orchestrating the symphony between your brain and your gut,” Church explains.

“It enhances the brain’s ability to resist food cravings while promoting beneficial metabolic processes in the gut, both of which help maintain a healthy weight.”

In short, a harmonious partnership may encourage more self-control, better metabolism, and higher oxytocin levels.

“Marriage can serve as a training ground for self-control,” Church said. “Sustaining long-term relationships requires continually overcoming destructive impulses and being consistent with long-term goals, which may strengthen the same brain circuits involved in managing eating behaviors.”

Church acknowledged some limitations to her study, which was published Wednesday in the journal Gut Microbiome, including that most participants were overweight or obese and that the data was captured at only one point in time.

Still, she says cultivating “lasting, positive and stable” relationships is important to improving health. Research has shown that strong social relationships can reduce the risk of dementia.

If you’re worried about your waistline, maybe you can ease it in with some Netflix and ice cream.