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SALT LAKE CITY — If you’re looking for ways to maintain good health into adulthood, consider finishing college before becoming a husband or wife.
That’s according to a new study that revealed couples who wait to marry until after they’ve finished their degree from a four-year college are 50 percent less likely to struggle with obesity later in life than couples who tie the knot before graduating.
“These findings provide new theoretical insight into how education maintains a long-lasting association with better health,” researchers wrote in the study, which was published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
Researchers set out to determine if and how the order of doing things actually makes a difference in future health. To do this, they examined data from 14,000 people collected as part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. That study tracked a sample of youths from 1995 — when they were between 11 and 19 years old — to roughly 2008, when they were about 28 years old.
Twenty nine percent of those surveyed got degrees from four-year colleges, and 7 percent of those were married before graduation, according to the study.
The researchers took a look at the body mass indexes of the participants both before they graduated from college and after, and also made a note about when they got married. After compiling and analyzing the data, they discovered that people who got married before they graduated were much more prone to obesity — 25 percent of them were obese, compared to just 17 percent of those who waited to marry.
But why?
Our research suggests that people who earn a college degree after marrying may have established exercise and diet habits that are more difficult to change later.
–Richard Allen Meich, lead author
“Our research suggests that people who earn a college degree after marrying may have established exercise and diet habits that are more difficult to change later,” said lead study author Richard Allen Meich in a release.
Researchers noted that the transition into married life is often marked by weight gain, as new couples tend to stop exercising as much while eating more. But those who have already graduated may be better equipped to navigate those changes.
“New spouses who graduated from college before getting married typically earn more money than those who did not and can invest in their health by purchasing such things as a gym subscription or healthier, more expensive foods,” said Meich.
While it’s important to note that marrying before graduation is not a surefire way to become obese, it’s still a relevant issue to think about, experts said.
“It takes us beyond studies that focus on marriage and body weight or that focus on education and body weight,” sociology professor Debra Umberson told U.S. News.
