The only sensible insurance against this would be a pre-emptive weight gain – a larger ‘fuel tank’ might be needed to protect and provide for your new family. The mechanisms that cause the weight set-point to increase are unclear; however, we do know that after marriage men’s testosterone levels decrease and women’s oestrogen levels increase.5 A man’s lower testosterone helps family stability, but also leads to weight gain; and a woman’s higher oestrogen increases fertility, but also signals an increase in fat storage, particularly in the hips and breasts.6
Gaining weight after marriage
