Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-15T23:57:19.852Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

GETTING READY FOR THE MARRIAGE MARKET? THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DIVORCE RISKS AND INVESTMENTS IN ATTRACTIVE BODY MASS AMONG MARRIED EUROPEANS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2007

PETTER LUNDBORG ,
PAUL NYSTEDT  and
BJÖRN LINDGREN
PETTER LUNDBORG
Affiliation:
Lund University Centre for Health Economics (LUCHE), Lund, Sweden Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Sweden Department of Economics, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
PAUL NYSTEDT
Affiliation:
Lund University Centre for Health Economics (LUCHE), Lund, Sweden Department of Economics, Linköping University, Sweden Vårdal Institute, Lund University, Sweden
BJÖRN LINDGREN
Affiliation:
Lund University Centre for Health Economics (LUCHE), Lund, Sweden Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Sweden Vårdal Institute, Lund University, Sweden
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This article explores to what extent married middle-aged individuals in Europe are governed by the risk of experiencing divorce, when shaping their physical appearance. The main result is that divorce risks, proxied by national divorce rates, are negatively connected to body mass index (BMI) among married individuals but unrelated to BMI among singles. Hence, it seems that married people in societies where divorce risks are high are more inclined to invest in their outer appearance. One interpretation is that high divorce rates make married people prepare for a potential divorce and future return to the marriage market.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 39 , Issue 4 , July 2007 , pp. 531 - 544
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)