Blistering marital rows and depression can lead to people piling on the pounds, according to a study.
The double whammy of arguing with a spouse and a history of depression can increase the risk for obesity in adults, as it alters how the body processes high-fat foods.
Researchers found men and women with a history of depression who had especially heated arguments with their spouse burned fewer calories after a meal than less argumentative couples.
The reduction in calories burned could translate to gaining 12 pounds a year – almost an entire stone.
These couples also had higher levels of insulin, which contributes to the storage of fat, and spikes of triglycerides – a form of fat in the blood – after eating a heavy meal when compared to participants without these risk factors.
Lead researcher Jan Kiecold-Glaser, from Ohio State University, said the findings reveal how important it is to treat mental health problems.
The new study backs up her previous research, which found that women who are stressed put on weight because their metabolism slows down, burning 100 fewer calories a day.
She said: ‘These findings not only identify how chronic stressors can lead to obesity, but also point to how important it is to treat mood disorders. Interventions for mental health clearly could benefit physical health as well.
‘Our results probably underestimate the health risks because the effects of only one meal were analysed. Most people eat every four to five hours, and often dine with their spouses.’
‘Meals provide prime opportunities for ongoing disagreements in a troubled marriage, so there could be a longstanding pattern of metabolic damage stemming from hostility and depression.’
The researchers recruited 43 healthy couples, ages 24 to 61, who had been married for at least three years.
As part of the study, participants completed a range of questionnaires that included assessments of marital satisfaction, past mood disorders and depressive symptoms.
During the two daylong study visits, all participants ate eggs, turkey sausage, savoury biscuits made from dough, and gravy that totalled 930 calories and 60 grams of fat.
The meal was designed to mimic common fast-food options, and matches the calories and fat in a Burger King double whopper with cheese or a Big Mac and medium fries at McDonald’s.
Two hours later, the couples were asked to discuss and try to resolve one or more issues that researchers had previously judged to be most likely to produce conflict.
Common topics were money, communication and in-laws.
Researchers left the room during these videotaped discussions, and later categorized the interactions as psychological abuse, distress-maintaining conversations, hostility or withdrawal.
After the meals, participants’ energy expenditure – or calories burned by converting food to energy – was tested for 20 minutes of every hour for the next seven hours.
Researchers obtained this data by using equipment that measured inhaled and exhaled airflow of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Blood samples were drawn several times after the meals to measure glucose, insulin and triglycerides and compare them to baseline levels.
Participants with both a mood disorder history and a more hostile marriage burned an average of 31 fewer calories per hour than those from a less hostile marriage.
In the first measurement after the meal, they also had an average of 12 per cent more insulin in the blood than couples from marriages with low levels of hostility.
Insulin contributes to the storage of fat, so higher insulin levels usually lead to weight gain.
Their insulin levels didn’t match other participants’ lower levels until two hours after eating.
