Marriage's 'dark side': Spouses catch each other's bad behavior

[LaurenG]

As any single person with married friends can testify, their constant patter about how great marriage is for just about everything (Your heart! Your mood! Your life expectancy !) can be a little annoying. Research supports those pitying glances they shoot in your direction when you defend your singleness; long-term committed relationships like marriage really are good for your health. But, still.

That's all the more reason to embrace University of Cincinnati sociologist Corinne Reczek, who believes that research “has failed to look at the dark side” of coupledom.

In research presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Las Vegas, Reczek provides a little balance.

Reczek interviewed 122 heterosexual, lesbian, and gay couples with an average age of older than 40 and an average relationship duration of between 14 and 25 years. Then she teased out subtle and direct clues as to how the couple interacted in health-related behaviors. What did she find? Three ways that partners can erode each other’s health habits: “influence,” “synchronicity” and “personal responsibility.”


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44234629/ns/health-behavior/#.TlWJBqjOMv4

[Kolesar]

1. "Growing big as a house" -- David Byrne

People Like Us

[CTyankee]

2. I just don't havebad stuff in the house. Period.

Yes, I feel real hunger because I impose on myself some real caloric limits. I am getting used to it.It is the only way I can control weight since my physical situation doesn't allow for a lot of work outs. (
Even when I did, the workouts didn't cause weight reduction...).

My husband has to suffer right along with me, I realize. He does work out in a gym 3 days a week but I restrict his calories at meal time. He has lost 30 pounds. I think he was "scared straight" by his doc when he had a cardiac issue in 2009. No blockage, thank god, but he had to change his diet and start an exercise regiment...


We are aiming at local food, good and healthful food, and food in season. It's great now, but winter will be another season...

[angstlessk]

3. My sister, who was raised with 'perfect english' which was TRASHED

when she served time on a Merchant Marine ship...she came back with such language as I never heard from her before.....my thought was..one does not upgrade the masses, but the masses do DOWNGRADE the rest...not being a snob....just saying enlightening is difficult, but downgrading is easy!

[Rowdyboy]

4. I totally agree with the last line in the article....

“Sometimes eating bad food, sometimes being lazy or having the extra beer can be part of the glue that holds a relationship together,” she said. “It might be good for relationship quality.”