Weight and Marriage

With the big day looming on Saturday, it was unsettling to read today’s Daily Beast article on marriage and weight gain.

According to a recent study conducted by the University of North Carolina’s School of Public Health, adults entering a long-term cohabiting relationship, particularly those who get married, are prone to higher rates of weight gain and obesity than those who remain single.

The author’s solution endorses a heavy-handed government intervention in America’s obesity problem:

So where does this leave us? Ultimately, the Obama administration should fully embrace weight control as a societal issue, and realize it is not something that can be left to individual responsibility. There are so many useful things the government could do that would make it easier, from subsidizing the right types of farming to reining in the food industry and funding health-maintenance programs at worksites.

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The prescription does not square with the ailment. Later in the article, the author notes several tips for keeping the pounds under control even after tying the knot – chief among them eating less, and exercising more. One might be tempted to call such suggestions commonsense, and personal responsibility. Although, in the age of Obama, such notions are quaint.

Even so, the warning is a good wake up call for all Americans as health care reform dominates the Nation’s political landscape. In many ways, the health problems we face are ones of our own creation. The choices we make in life, and in marriage have real, long-term consequences.

Here’s hoping the future missus and I can learn to adopt healthy habits – lest Big Brother ‘make sure’ that we do. Ja?