ST Dec 17, 2004

Marriage offers health benefits

WASHINGTON - MARRIED people are healthier than other adults, though husbands have a tendency to pack on extra kilograms, says the US National Centre for Health Statistics.

The centre's report on Wednesday, based on a survey of more than 125,000 people, did not specify reasons, but health statistician Charlotte Schoenborn said there are two major theories.

One is that marriage may be protective of health. For example, married couples may have advantages in terms of economic resources, social and psychological support and encouragement of healthful lifestyles.

A second theory is marital selection - the theory that healthy people get married and stay married, whereas less healthy people either do not marry or are more likely to become separated, divorced or widowed.

'Overall, this association between marital status and health persists regardless of socio-economic status, education and poverty, where people were born or their ethnicity,' she said.

The centre reported that among adults 18 years and over, 11.9 per cent said they were in only fair or poor health. Some 10.5 per cent of married people reported being in poor or fair health, while all other groups were higher. At 19.6 per cent, the widowed were the most likely to be in these categories.

'In general, married adults were the least likely to experience health problems and the least likely to engage in risky health behaviour, with the notable exception of being overweight,' Ms Schoenborn wrote.

The report was based on a survey of 127,545 people in 1999-2002 conducted by the centre. In addition to reporting better health overall, the study found that married people said they had less low back pain, fewer headaches and less psychological stress. They also were less likely to drink and smoke and were more physically active than people in general.

But they were not immune to weight problems. Currently, more than half of all adults - 56.7 per cent - are overweight or obese, the centre said.

Some 70.6 per cent of husbands were overweight or obese compared with 65.1 per cent of all men. Some 48.6 per cent of married women were overweight or obese, about the same as the 48.5 per cent of women in general. The largest share of overweight women was among the widowed at 53.2 per cent. -- ASSOCIATED PRESS

1 gd reason(better health) y we shld get married.....but also 1 gd reason(not get over-weight/obese) 4 not getting married!!!