Want strong bones? Get married, but only after age twenty-five.
A new study published in Osteoporosis International examining how marriage affects bone health uncovered some interesting facts, including:
- Men who married younger than twenty-five had lower bone strength than those who married older.
- Men in stable or “marriage-like” relationships who had never been previously divorced or separated had more bone strength than men whose marriages ended.
- Men in stable relationships had stronger bones than men who never married.
All this comes courtesy of data from the Midlife in the United States study, which recruited hundreds of American adults in 1995 and checked in on them over the decade, collecting demographic information and measuring their hip and spine bone density. Women’s bone health, on the other hand, mainly suffered if their partners weren’t supportive. According to the authors, “Specifically, never marrying, and experiencing a divorce, widowhood, or separation are associated with poor bone health in men, whereas poor marital quality is associated with poor bone health in women.”
