Weight and weddings. Engaged men’s body weight ideals and wedding weight management behaviors

Most adults marry at some point in life, and many invest substantial resources in a wedding ceremony. Previous research reports that brides often strive towards culturally-bound appearance norms and engage in weight management behaviors in preparation for their wedding. However, little is known about wedding weight ideals and behaviors among engaged men. A cross-sectional survey of 163 engaged men asked them to complete a questionnaire about their current height and weight, ideal wedding body weight, wedding weight importance, weight management behaviors, formality of their upcoming wedding ceremony, and demographics. Results indicated that the discrepancy between men’s current weight and reported ideal wedding weight averaged 9.61 lb. Most men considered being at a certain weight at their wedding to be somewhat important. About 39% were attempting to lose weight for their wedding, and 37% were not trying to change their weight. Attempting weight loss was more frequent among men with higher BMI’s, those planning more formal weddings, and those who considered being the right weight at their wedding as important. Overall, these findings suggest that weight-related appearance norms and weight loss behaviors are evident among engaged men.

► Engaged men weighed about 10 lb more than their idealized wedding weight.
► Most engaged men considered their wedding weight to be somewhat important.
► Most men desired to weigh less for their wedding, but only 39% tried to lose weight.
► Engaged men used a variety of behaviors when attempting wedding weight loss.
► Men anticipating formal weddings were more likely to be attempting weight loss.