Recent Studies Say Marriage Is Healthier For Men Than Women

The health benefits associated with marriage have always been a topic of discussion among researchers. Now, the latest research has revealed that the institution of marriage has far more health benefits for men than women.

A team of researchers from University College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics recently revealed that single men tend to suffer from more health problems than married men. The same does not seem to be true for women.

Researchers also claimed that single men have greater health concerns and issues than unmarried women. Middle-aged single women, on the other hand, have almost the same chance of developing a metabolic syndrome as married women in the same age group. Metabolic syndromes include obesity and diabetes.

During the study, the team found that unmarried women are at a slightly increased risk of developing breathing issues compared to married women. However, the rate was much lower than single men when compared to married men. Similarly, the risk of developing heart problems was 14 percent higher in unmarried men and negligible in women.

“Not marrying...is less detrimental among women than men,” said Dr. George Ploubidis from the UCL Institute of Education. “Being married appears to be more beneficial for men.”

A number of studies conducted in the past have claimed that married men and women have better health than their unmarried counterparts. But the latest study findings stand contrary to previous findings. The team has claimed that people who remarry, get divorced or experience separation tend to have the same state of health when middle-aged as married people.

"Previous research has also shown that men experience an initial decline after divorce, but we found that in the long term they tend to revert to their pre-divorce health status,” said Dr. Ploubidis.

“Surprisingly, those men who divorced in their late 30s and did not subsequently remarry were less likely to suffer from conditions related to diabetes in early middle-age compared with those who were married."