Why women gain weight after marriage

By Martin Kanyegirire

Many women are in shape on their wedding day. In fact, most of them make an extra effort to lose weight and tighten up any flabby bits so they look great in their wedding gowns.

But after two years of marriage, the wife who was married a slim beauty, starts becoming overweight and eventually a shadow of herself.

Why women gain weight after marriage:

Pregnancy and breastfeeding According to Dr. Jolly Beyeza of the obstetrics and gynaecology department, Mulago Hospital, it is due to the change in lifestyle.

“When women get married, they start having children, which usually leaves them with baby weight,” Beyeza explains. She adds that women who have just had babies tend to eat and drink more.

However, when these women do not rigorously breastfeed their babies, this is bound to eventually lead to them becoming overweight.

Many women tend to overeat during pregnancy literally believing the phrase eating for two, while at the same time they are inactive. This, Beyeza says, is a factor that contributes to gaining weight in married women.

No longer trying to find a partner
“Many unmarried women watch their weight to stay in shape and attract a partner and once he has been ‘secured’ through marriage, women abandon many of the healthy habits that kept their weight down,” Tony Musaalo, a counselling psychologist at Mulago Hospital says.

In an unhappy relationship Research suggests that happily married people gain less weight than their unhappily married counterparts.

“This should not be surprising given that several studies have found that unhappily married people turn to food as a substitute for unfulfilled needs in a marriage,” Musaalo says, but counsels that in this case, a person might need to seek counselling help from a professional.

Musaalo adds that during times of particularly high stress, one may resort to food in an attempt to fulfil emotional needs, which is called stress eating or emotional eating. To this cause, one is likely to eat highcalorie foods during times of stress, even when they are not hungry,” Musaalo says.