- A small study from UCLA found that married people who felt strongly supported by their partner had lower body mass index and fewer food addiction like behaviours than married people with low emotional support.
- Brain scans showed that these highly supported spouses activated self control regions more strongly when looking at food, and stool samples suggested healthier gut metabolite profiles.
- The hormone oxytocin, sometimes called the love hormone, appeared to link relationship quality with brain responses and gut metabolism, although the study cannot prove cause and effect.
Nearly 100 adults from the Los Angeles area took part in this cross sectional study, which aimed to explore how close relationships might influence weight and eating behaviour through brain and gut pathways.
Participants provided information on marital status, perceived emotional support, body mass index, diet and other lifestyle factors.
They underwent brain imaging while viewing pictures of food, provided faecal samples for analysis of gut metabolites and had blood tests to measure oxytocin levels.
Among married participants, those who reported high emotional support from their spouse tended to have lower body mass index and fewer signs of food addiction than married participants who felt less supported.
When these individuals viewed images of food in the scanner, they showed stronger activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain area involved in self control and regulation of cravings.
Their gut metabolite profiles also differed. People with strong support had higher levels of beneficial tryptophan related compounds produced by gut bacteria.
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These metabolites are linked to lower inflammation, better energy balance and healthier brain function.
Married participants with high support had higher oxytocin levels.
The authors suggest that oxytocin may act as a messenger that strengthens self control circuits in the brain and shapes gut metabolism in a way that makes it easier to maintain a healthy weight.
This study is small and took a snapshot in time, so it cannot show that a good marriage causes lower weight or that emotional support directly changes brain and gut function.
Most participants were already overweight or living with obesity, which also limits how widely the findings can be applied.
Even so, it adds weight to a broader message.
Social relationships are not just a feel good extra, they are woven into physical health.
For people with or at risk of type 2 diabetes, paying attention to relationship quality and social support may help alongside diet, activity and medicines. Strengthening supportive partnerships might make it easier to resist unhelpful cravings and stick with healthy habits over time.
