Effect of marriage on overweight and obesity: evidence from China

Background: The number of overweight and obese people in China is showing a rapidly rising trend. Exploring the reasons behind this phenomenon is an urgent academic topic. This study aims to evaluate the effect of marriage on overweight and obesity in China.

Methods: A total of 44,095 samples were analyzed Data came from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), a national, large-scale, multidisciplinary social tracking survey. Four periods of panel data were used and fixed effects regression was performed. Overweight and obesity were defined as BMI ≥ 24 kg/m² and BMI ≥ 28 kg/m², respectively.

Results: Marriage significantly increases the probability of being overweight (6.5%, p < 0.01) and obese (2.8%, p < 0.01). An important influencing factor is the reduction of exercise behavior after marriage; that is, marriage reduces exercise time but has no significant effect on drinking. Additionally, we see a greater impact on those aged between 20 and 30, but it has no significant effect on those aged between 40 and 50.

Conclusion: Marriage is an important socioeconomic factor that led to overweight and obesity. It is urgent to encourage married people to control their weight and government health departments should provide more convenient exercise facilities.