Marital status and body weight, weight perception, and weight management among U.S. adults

• We examine the relationship between marital status and weight-related variables.
• Men's marital status is unrelated to their perceived weight status.
• Married women more often perceive themselves as overweight than unmarried women.
• Married women are more likely to desire weight loss than unmarried women.
• Women's marital roles may be useful to consider in weight management interventions.

Married individuals often have higher body weights than unmarried individuals, but it is unclear how marital roles affect body weight-related perceptions, desires, and behaviors. This study analyzed cross-sectional data for 4,089 adult men and 3,989 adult women using multinomial logistic regression to examine associations between marital status, perceived body weight, desired body weight, and weight management approach. Controlling for demographics and current weight, married or cohabiting women and divorced or separated women more often perceived themselves as overweight and desired to weigh less than women who had never married. Marital status was unrelated to men's weight perception and desired weight change. Marital status was also generally unrelated to weight management approach, except that divorced or separated women were more likely to have intentionally lost weight within the past year compared to never married women. Additionally, never married men were more likely to be attempting to prevent weight gain than married or cohabiting men and widowed men. Overall, married and formerly married women more often perceived themselves as overweight and desired a lower weight. Men's marital status was generally unassociated with weight-related perceptions, desires, and behaviors. Women's but not men's marital roles appear to influence their perceived and desired weight, suggesting that weight management interventions should be sensitive to both marital status and gender differences.