There is often no sport in marriage

Relationship leads to the decline of sports activities

01/21/2014

Life in a couple relationship makes many people into real sporty muffles. The scientists around Ingmar Rapp and Björn Schneider from the Max Weber Institute for Sociology at the University of Heidelberg come to this conclusion in a recent study on the effects of relationship status on physical activity. Their investigation has the researchers in the journal „Social Science & Medicine“ released.

Firm partnerships, according to the scientists, have a significant effect on physical activity. Schneider and Rapp see confirmation of the so-called marriage market hypothesis, according to which the attachment to a partner or a partner reduces the motivation to do sport. „Men and women in stable partnerships no longer have to prove their attractiveness in the marriage market“, explained Rapp. The researchers also found a link between the intensity of the partnership and the decline in physical activity. For example, the enthusiasm for sports already declined in the case of rather casual dating acquaintances, but the effects were greatest for married couples.

Marriage with the most adverse effect on exercise
The underlying data comes from the so-called Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), which has been covering the data of 11,568 people on their lifestyles, income, education, health, life satisfaction, party participation and much more for 19 years. Restricted physical activities of men and women were noted by researchers here for every type of relationship, but that was „Effect most for married couples and weakest for dating couples.“ Moreover, the decline in physical activity is not the same for all age groups, and for older men living in a marriage, the negative effects of living together and marriage on physical activity become weaker as people get older, according to the Heidelberg scientists. It is possible that women are increasingly paying attention to their partner's health and motivating them to do sports, according to researchers. In the case of women, however, the adverse effects of the relationship are equally pronounced until old age.

Marriage market hypothesis as an explanatory model
Overall, according to the researchers, theoretical factors may play a role in the declining sports activities in the partnership, but for example, the frequently cited time constraints are of secondary importance. The social control or support of the partner has the effect, especially for older men, that the sports activities are not completely abandoned, but in the overall context of the study, this influence is rather negligible. Ultimately, only the marriage market hypothesis remains as an essential element to explain the observed decline in sports activities in the partnership, Rapp and Schneider report. If the results are confirmed by other studies, this would allow valuable implications for health promotion, the researchers concluded. (Fp)