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belgareth
12-16-2004, 09:51 AM
Study Says It's Healthy to Be Married

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer





WASHINGTON - Confirming what many couples already knew, a government

study concludes it's healthy to be married. Sure, the majority of husbands pack on some extra pounds. But overall,

married people are sick less often and more active. They smoke and drink less and in general feel better than

single, divorced, never married or even folks just living together.

The National Center for Health Statistics report didn't name the reasons why married people are healthier.

But health statistician Charlotte Schoenborn in an interview described two major theories.



One is that marriage may be protective of health. For example

married couples may have advantages in terms of economic resources, social and psychological support and

encouragement of healthy lifestyles.

A second possibility, she said,

is marital selection — "the theory that healthy people get married and stay married, whereas less healthy people

either do not marry or are more likely to become separated, divorced or widowed."



"Overall, this association between marital status and health

persists regardless of socio-economic status, education and poverty, where people were born or their ethnicity,"

Schoenborn said.

Among adults 18 and over, 11.9 percent said they

were in fair or poor health, the study found.

By comparison, some

10.5 percent of married people reported being in poor or fair health, while all other groups were higher. At 19.6

percent, widows and widowers were the most likely to be in these less healthy categories.



"In general, married adults were the least likely to experience

health problems and the least likely to engage in risky health behaviors, with the notable exception of being

overweight," Schoenborn wrote.

The report was based on a survey of

127,545 people in 1999-2002 conducted by the center, part of the federal Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention.

In addition to reporting better health overall, the study

found that married people said they had less low back pain, fewer headaches and less psychological stress. They also

were less likely to drink and smoke and were more physically active than people in general.



However, they're not immune to the weight problems plaguing

America.

Currently more than half of all adults are overweight or

obese — 56.7 percent — the center said.

Some 70.6 percent of

husbands were overweight or obese compared with 65.1 percent of all men. For females, 48.6 percent of married women

were overweight or obese, virtually the same as the 48.5 percent of women in general. Widows made up the largest

share of overweight women at 53.2 percent.

An association between

marriage and health was first reported in the 1970s. The relationship persists although much has changed since then.



People are waiting longer to marry now, and living with a domestic

partner outside of marriage has become more common, Schoenborn noted.

"For most negative health indicators, adults living with a partner had higher rates than married adults: they

were more likely to be in fair or poor health, to have some type of limitation of activity for health reasons and to

have experienced low back pain and headaches ... and serious psychological distress," Schoenborn reported.



The report found that married people were least likely to light up a

smoke, at 18.8 percent, compared with 22.9 percent for all adults. The most likely to smoke were those living with

an unmarried partner, 38.4 percent, and divorced and separated people, 34.7 percent.



Some 4.7 percent of adults reported they had become heavier drinkers

than previously, with the lowest rate among marrieds at 3.7 percent. Again, those living with an unmarried partner

had the largest share reporting more drinking, 8.2 percent, followed by the divorced and separated, 6.4 percent.



Overall the study found that 58.2 percent of adults are married,

10.4 percent are separated or divorced, 6.6 percent are widowed, 19 percent are never married and 5.7 percent are

living with a partner.