A Chinese bridal couple kiss as they pose in front of the Neuschwanstein castle after their symbolic wedding in Fuessen, in this May 31, 2012 file picture.
A Chinese bridal couple kiss as they pose in front of the Neuschwanstein castle after their symbolic wedding in Fuessen, on May 31, 2012 Reuters

The saying that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach might be true in the case of a married man as his wife cannot resist feeding him, resulting in fatter married men. A study by the Men's Health Forum showed that marriage can change men's eating habits and their weight. Earlier, research was done on the post-marriage weight of the woman which showed that married women were less likely to exercise, hence resulting in piling up of weight.

Married men were found to be fatter than their single counterparts, said researchers from Leeds Metropolitan University. The study showed that they developed a sweet tooth because of which they indulged into more buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies. They were als found to be drinking 'significantly' more wine.

The reason why marriage makes a difference in the weight of a man is not exactly known, but scientists suggest that men tend to relax after their wedding day, leading to a change in the man's attitude towards his weight. Another suggestion is that men who find themselves a good cook in their wife tend to put on weight due to the better food that they get to eat made by their wives, resulting in indulging in richer foods. The study suggested that some wives purposefully overfed their husbands to make them less attractive to other women.

Tam Fry, an obesity expert, explained what the problem is. He said that since men had done all the hard work before their marriage by taking the woman out to dinner and everything, after the wedding, the woman takes control and looks after her husband, making him relax and adding on girth to his waistline.

Being married for 50 years, he added, that in his circumstance, his wife cooks for a small army and he is very careful of how much he eats. He feels the woman wants to please the man, but it is up to the man to decide whether he wants to be a slob.

Some of the findings of the study showed good habits being adopted by the married men like eating more fruit and wholemeal bread and leaving behind kebabs and burgers in comparison to their single friends. Also, the researchers found that those who were married had a tendency to eat more yoghurt than the ones divorced and that they ate more chocolate than widowers.