Study: Marriage packs on the pounds

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- A study finds that U.S. married couples in their late teens and early 20s tend to gain more weight than their single friends.

In a report released Monday at the Obesity Society's annual meeting, Penny Gordon-Larsen of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and her colleagues said that people in that age range often put on the pounds, with the number of people classified as obese increasing significantly. They found that married couples' average weight gain is 6 to 9 pounds above those of single people.

The researchers tracked 8,000 people aged 12 to 28 for five years, including a subset of 1,200 married couples.

They suggest a number of reasons why being married contributes to weight gain, including having less time to exercise and weight put on by women who become pregnant. Young people who are dating also have more incentive to stay thin.

Couples who are living together without marriage do not tend to gain weight as much.