New research by doctoral students at Ohio State has found that while women often gain excess pounds after marriage, men are more likely to add weight after a divorce, HealthDay reports.

The study, lead by Dmitry Tumin, a doctoral student in sociology at the university, analyzed weight gain in more than 10,000 Americans from 1986 to 2008 in the two years after a marriage or divorce. ABC News reports that the study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. From there, the study tracked body mass index of people who were never married, who got divorced and who stayed married.

Researchers found that never-married people were less likely to have a small weight gain than men and women who experienced marriage or divorce.

Weight gain was typically minor in the two years after a major relationship change, but the risk of a large weight gain was higher among men after a divorce and women after a marriage. According to researchers, these results were not surprising given commonly held beliefs about men and marriage.

“Studies show that married men get a health benefit from marriage, and they lose that benefit once they get divorced, which may lead to their weight gain,” explained study co-author and sociology professor Zhenchao Qian.

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