London - Love is... not caring what you weigh.
Women in a happy relationship stop worrying about their weight, a study found.
Even those who were overweight said they were satisfied with the way they were.
The researchers said that a woman’s attitude towards her figure owes more to how happy she is with her life than to the number on the bathroom scales.
The study involved more than 250 women aged between 20 and 45. Around two-thirds were living with their boyfriend and the others were married.
The women answered a series of questions about their relationship, including how satisfying it was emotionally, sexually and intellectually and how many interests they had in common with their husband or boyfriend.
They were also asked how satisfied they were with their weight and what their ideal weight would be.
The answers revealed that the women in happy relationships were also happiest with their weight – even if it wasn’t what they’d classed as ideal.
These women were also less self-conscious and had higher self-esteem, a British Psychological Society conference heard.
The results were the same whether a woman was living with her boyfriend or married.
Researcher Sabina Vatter, of Tallinn University in Estonia, said: “These findings suggest that our satisfaction with body size, shape and weight has more to do with how happy we are in important areas of our lives, like our romantic relationships, than it does with what the bathroom scales say.”
Vatter, who did the research for her masters degree, said that women who are happy in their relationship may simply pay less attention to their weight. In contrast, those in a bad relationship may be under pressure from their partner to change the way they look.
A woman in an unhappy relationship may also transfer her worries to her weight.
Vatter studied only people who were in relationships but she believes single women who are worried about their weight could also benefit from a self-confidence boost.
She said: “Women should not be too obsessed with what they weigh. There is a lot more to women than their weight.
“The most important thing is to eat healthily and do regular exercise. Exercise also increases women’s self-confidence because they feel they are doing something good for their bodies.”
Psychologist Dr Jane McCartney, author of self-help book Stop Overeating, said that the contentment with a happy relationship spills over into other areas of a woman’s life.
She added: “You could probably compare 500 women living in rotten tower blocks and find those happiest in their relationships are also happiest with where they live. People’s relationships have a big bearing on how they react generally.” - Daily Mail