Good marriage = good health?

Are people who are married healthier than those who aren’t? Some studies claim that they are. In this article at WebMD, Married People Are Healthiest, Except for Weight, Says CDC, the author reviews a study of 127,000 adults between 1999 and 2002 published by the Centers of Disease Control in the United States. It says, “Across the board, married people were healthiest. "’Married persons were healthier for nearly every measure of health,’ says the CDC. That was true for all ages, ethnicities, and levels of income and education. The connection between marriage and health was strongest in the youngest group, aged 18-44.”

The article goes on to say, “Married people were also less likely to smoke, drink heavily, and be physically inactive.” What is interesting is that the study goes on to say that living together didn’t have the same effect as marriage.

Ok, that’s one article/study – but the MayoClinic.com has another one: Healthy Marriage: Why Love is Good for You. In this article the authors used a study from Harvard: “According to one Harvard University study, married women are 20 percent less likely than are single women to die of a variety of causes, including heart disease, suicide and cirrhosis of the liver. Married men enjoy an even greater benefit — they're two to three times less likely to die of such causes than are single men. Statistics have also shown married people are less likely to be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other violent crimes.”

Of course, an unhealthy marriage isn’t going to have the same effect, so we can’t say that all marriages will produce healthier people, that’s for sure.

So, what’s with all this marriage talk today? Twenty-two years ago, my husband and I joined the marriage club. Two sons and a daughter, and 22 years later, we’re still married and still moving ahead. He’s a good man and a wonderful father to our kids. I couldn’t have picked better.

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