Married women and divorced men gain weight

London: It seems that marriage and divorce are both bad for the waistline -- while women are most likely to gain weight after tying the knot, men tend to pile on the pounds following a break-up, say researchers.

A new study of more than 10,000 people surveyed between 1986 and 2008 found that both marrying and getting divorced can have a "weight shock" effect that leads to rapid weight gain, especially in over-30s.

But the researchers say there was a marked difference between men and women in which marital event was the most traumatic on the waistline, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

In fact, the researchers used data from the survey in which men and women were weighed every year to see how many pounds they gained or lost in the two years following a marriage or divorce.

Up to the age of 30 there was little impact on the weight of either men or women, but after this point the probability of weight gain after marriage or divorce began to rise steadily until the age of 50.

Both sexes were more likely to gain weight in the two years after a divorce or marriage than someone who had never been married, the study showed.