Nov. 4, 2019—Here's some good news if you've just been dumped. Bad breakups won't necessarily add inches to your waistline—even if you soothe the pain with a brief junk food binge.
To look for a possible connection between breakups and weight gain, researchers asked 581 people if they had recently gone through a breakup—and if so, whether they gained or lost weight within one year of their split. Nearly 63% said their weight didn't change after their relationship ended.
That was such a surprise that the researchers followed up with a more detailed study. This study involved 261 new participants who were asked if they'd experienced a breakup after a long-term relationship, and if so:
- How committed their relationship was.
- Who initiated the breakup.
- Whether they tended to eat emotionally.
- If their weight changed.
Once again, a breakup usually didn't lead to weight gain. A solid 65% reported no change in weight after a major breakup. The only exception: Women prone to emotional eating did gain weight after a relationship ended. But that wasn't common, according to the researchers.
Still, it may be helpful to get help from a mental health counselor if you're prone to emotional eating, the researchers said.
The research appeared in EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium.
According to the researchers, overeating after a partner abandoned you may have made sense for our ancestors when gathering food was difficult.
But as these findings suggest, that's a survival instinct we've outgrown. While we may drown our sorrows by overeating for a day or two, modern humans don't tend to pack on pounds after a relationship fizzles—even a serious one.
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