A probe into the rising obesity in Kenya has led researchers to an unlikely culprit – marriage.
There is now evidence that after moving in together, many couples immediately begin to pile on weight.
Researchers said it was already known that people grow fatter with age, but certain drivers of overweight and obesity in Kenya remained unknown.
They, therefore, examined data from the 2015 Kenya STEPwise Survey, the first nationally representative survey to objectively measure body mass index among Kenyan men and women.
This would allow targeted health interventions.
The analysis revealed that married individuals are significantly more likely to be overweight or obese.
University of Nairobi cardiologist Prof Gerald Yonga, also a member of the civil society organisation’s working group on NCDs at the World Health Organization, took part in the study.
Others are researchers from three universities based in the United States.
The researchers analysed data of 4,340 Kenyan adults aged between 18 and 69 years and examined the prevalence, sociodemographic and behavioural risk factors associated with being overweight or obese.
“Given the public health concerns about obesity, understanding more about the social factors that can cause weight fluctuation is important,” they said.
Obesity is a risk factor for the four main non-communicable diseases – cancers, diabetes, heart diseases and chronic respiratory diseases.
The findings, Prevalence and factors associated with overweight and obesity in Kenya, are published in the Preventive Medicine Reports journal.
“One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that alcohol consumption and adequate intake of fruits and vegetables were not significantly associated with the likelihood of having overweight or obesity,” the researchers added.
The study shows 31.7 per cent of all married or cohabiting people were overweight, compared to 22 per cent of those divorced or separated.
At least 30 per cent of those widowed were also overweight or obese.
Single people, who have never married, have the fittest bodies, with only 18 per cent being overweight.
The marriage market theory explains that single people keep fit to attract partners, but once married, they no longer have that pressure and are carefree.
In the Kenyan study, researchers theorised marriage makes people fat because it could be that some people feed better because they gain access to higher wealth or second income.
Others are driven by cultural expectations for men to grow bigger now that they have someone to “cook for them”.
Some married people have preference for a larger body size as a sign of high wealth or social status, the researchers said.
This was the first national examination of factors associated with overweight or obesity among both men and women in Kenya.
It also showed Central Kenya has the most obese population, with 41 per cent of residents being obese or overweight.
Murang’a county has the highest obesity or overweight level in Kenya at 46.54 per cent of all residents.
Turkana has the lowest, with only 0.89 per cent of residents being overweight. In general, Northeastern Kenya has the lowest obesity levels at 15 per cent.
A study by UK's University of Bath in 2017 showed married men gain up to two kilogrammes.
Edited by A.N
