Happiness – Couples – and Weight Gain

It’s my happy marriage that makes me fat – at least as reported by Misty Harris for the Postmedia news. Oh – I really take an exception to that argument – and the lousy study Misty used to back up her reporting.

Here’s a subject that really makes me angry – People who really should know better publishing studies that just don’t make sense.

My newest ‘moan’ – Andrea Meltzer, assistant professor of psychology at Southern Methodist University in Texas latest study. Apparently her team studied 169 newlywed – followed them for 4 years – and reported that the more ‘satisfied’ couples gained more weight.

The headline – Does my marriage make me look fat? – sub-headline – Study: link between weight, happiness.

Last line of the article – “If you take one of those happy marriages that go on for 20, 30, 40 years, it could potentially become unhealthy.”

So based on a study of 4 years (no kids, still in honeymoon mode) – we are predicting what will happen after the same couple has been married for 40 years. Are you kidding me? What kind of evidence could they have that allowed for that kind of thinking.

And what does that tell me – fight with my husband more, it will keep me thin? Great message there folks.

Andrea – you should be ashamed of yourself. The study isn’t bad – but it doesn’t say anything about long term impact. There are studies out there that show that on average everyone gains some weight after age 20 – and I will bet that my readers will agree there. So now you are trying to blame that on being happy.

Honey – it’s not the huge piece of cheesecake that made me fat – it’s because I love you.

I don’t think so. Not long-term. Not even close.