HEALTH: Marriage may also confer greater health on a couple

By GREG LEVINE

Newly married couples may not feel any healthier moments after exchanging their vows, but those benefits will likely start to accumulate over the long haul.

Researchers have found that marriage tends to improve the health of husbands and wives. On average, marriage helps keep both partners healthier than their single friends.

"The literature is pretty clear that married men and married women live longer than people like them who are not married," said Linda Waite, a University of Chicago sociologist.

Studies have shown that marriage can lower stress levels and reduce heart-failure rates, according to the Mayo Clinic's Web site.

However, some people are skeptical about the health-related claims for marriage.

Kelsey Tyson, who is not married and a consultant to singles in Salt Lake City, doubts that marriage reduces stress levels. Adding in-laws, and children, can create more causes of stress than for those who live on their own, he said.

In his observations, he has found "singles to be of better health than their married counterparts."

Researchers have yet to pin down an exact cause for why such changes seem to happen to married couples, but statistical examinations suggest the pattern.

Nicholas Wolfinger, a University of Utah researcher who has studied marriage issues, said pinning down such a cause is a challenge in the social sciences. But the marriage benefits appear to be there.

Many experts argue that men receive a bigger health benefit than women from marriage, said Sven Wilson, a Brigham Young University researcher who has studied the benefits of marriage.

To many, this may seem like common sense. Stereotypes depict bachelors as drowning in a sea of empty pizza boxes and cigarette butts, only seeking medical attention in life-or-death situations.

Then Ms. Right enters the picture, lifting the poor man from his life of squalor. She introduces him to vegetable-filled meals and regular medical check-ups.

Waite said there may be some merit to this idea, as single men often lack a health support network. Suddenly, a wife is there to monitor the man's health and encourage him to see the doctor more often.

Part of the reason that wives may not see as big a health boost as husbands is that women tend to start out healthier, said Waite, co-author of the book "The Case for Marriage: Why Married People are Happier, Healthier and Better off Financially."

Women are more likely to have a health support network, consisting of female friends and relatives, in place long before marriage.

Wolfinger is no longer sold on the idea that women are rescuing men through the bonds of matrimony.

"That's the old conventional wisdom," he said. "I think both people benefit a lot."

Another potential explanation is the notion that healthy people tend to marry other healthy people, Wilson said.

There are also the elements of social and emotional support that come with getting married. Husbands and wives can share each other's burdens in times of stress, Wilson said.

Other health benefits could be tied to the financial advantages of marriage. In situations where both partners work outside the home, the combined incomes provide a better sense of financial security. Couples also may have access to two health-care plans.

It remains unclear whether one reason or a combination of many results in the health benefits of marriage. But there is a notable exception to this idea — obesity.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paper suggests that married people, especially men, are more likely to be obese than single men. Married women are also more likely than never-married women to be overweight.

Wilson said high-conflict marriages can be a problem in terms of health. Couples who constantly argue may not reap the same level of health benefits as those who have smoother-sailing relationships.

On the other hand, couples who cohabitate for long periods do not appear to enjoy the same health benefits that accompany marriage. Wilson suggested that it may be because married couples have more of a vested interest in keeping one another healthy.

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