Bachelor-Lifestyle Worse for Health than Smoking

Believe it or not, getting married may actually be good for you. Several studies have revealed that married men and women tend to enjoy better health than their single peers, however results of a new study by researchers at Warwick University in the UK suggest that the health benefits of marriage are so great that in the short-term single men are at greater risk of dying than smokers.

Professor Andrew Oswald and his colleagues found that being married reduced a man's risk of dying over a seven-year period by 9%. Even when the effects of risk factors for disease such as smoking and drinking were taken into account, married men were still 6.1% less likely to die than bachelors were during the study period. While matrimony was also beneficial for women, the effect was not as strong as married women's mortality risk was reduced by just 2.9%. Results also showed that male smokers had a 5.8% greater risk of dying, while female smokers risk of death increased by 5.1% - thus suggesting that being single puts men at a greater short-term risk of death than smoking.

Some experts believe that marriage is good for health because of the "social support" it provides, whilst others speculate that single men and women tend to lead less wholesome lifestyles - while also having no-one to look after their well-being.

Oswald stresses that the lifetime risks of smoking are much greater than singledom, he suggests that male smokers should tie the knot as soon as possible to counteract the risk!

SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.bbc.co.uk on the 15th August 2002