After having talked about the negative aspects of marriage on mental health, we now report the results of a study that talks about the benefits that a peaceful relationship would bring to physical health: according to research published in Gut Microbesliving a fulfilling life as a couple, especially if married, would help protect us from obesity, influencing a complex communication system between the brain and the intestine which also involves oxytocin, the so-called love hormone. “Maintaining a long-term relationship requires constantly suppressing destructive impulses and aligning with long-term goals, thus strengthening the same brain circuits involved in managing eating behavior,” explains Arpana Church, one of the authors.
Emotional support. The authors involved 94 residents of Los Angeles (USA) and subjected them to various tests, including brain scans while looking at photos of food and blood plasma analysis to detect oxytocin levels.
The results showed that married people who felt emotionally supported by their partner had a lower BMI (body mass index) and suffered less from food addictions than married participants with less emotional support.
More controlled. Brain scans showed that when they viewed photos of food, happy couples had greater activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for regulating cravings and appetite.
In contrast, unmarried people with or without emotional support did not have the same brain structure, perhaps due to the fact that their social support networks were more heterogeneous and less stable.
Oxytocin in circulation. Married couples who had strong emotional support for each other also showed higher levels of oxytocin, the hormone that links physiological processes to social and emotional behaviors.
According to Church, oxytocin acts like an orchestra conductor conducting a concert between the brain and the belly: “It strengthens the brain’s ability to resist food cravings, while promoting beneficial metabolic processes in the intestine,” he explains.
Although the study has some limitations, such as the fact that the sample analyzed was small in both number and heterogeneity (most participants were overweight or obese, and married people were generally not young), the results demonstrate that social relationships are not only a source of emotional satisfaction, but are also linked to biological health.
