Scientists at the Hellenic Medical Association for Obesity found that married men were 3 times more likely to suffer from abdominal obesity as single men. Women suffer the same fate, though to a lesser extent, as they are twice as likely as their single female friends to carry excess weight around their abdominal region.

The Hellenic Medical Association research study looked at over 17,000 people aged bewteen 20 and 70 who were either married or single.

The researchers behind the study blamed a number of factors on this finding, citing the increase or watching TV and snacking together as well as the lose of calories caused by a down turn in the sex lives of married couples.

The research team also stressed that obesity levels may rise in married couples due to the fact that they no longer need to find a partner and that their looks are less likely to be a factor in attracting a sexual partner.