A recent study has found that when couples move in together, women pile on the pounds while men slim down.

For women, love and love handles have always come hand-in-hand. Whether it’s the three-course meals in candle-lit restaurants or the Chinese takeaways on Saturday nights – there’s something about being in a relationship that invites a heck of a lot of eating.

Even after the dating phase is over, the comfort and complacency that comes with a secure relationship causes a lot of people to give up the strict health regimes of their single pasts and do away with the gym membership once and for all. After all, they’ve already snagged a partner – who do they need to impress now?

The research by Centrum Multivitamins involved 1,300 people in the UK and found that while cohabiting women put on weight, men tend to lose it.

One third of men said they took on their partner’s eating habits when they moved in together, meaning they often reduced their calorie intake and ate more fruit and vegetables.

These results back up findings from nutritionists at the University of Newcastle, who found that when men and women move in together, they experience ‘dietary convergence’, when each person takes on some of the other’s eating habits.

Because women tend to eat more fruit and vegetables and less junk food than men, the men slimmed down and became healthier.

According to the report’s author, Dr Amelia Lake, couples should try to combine the good parts of one another’s diets for a healthier lifestyle together.

She said: “Couples who move in together should use the opportunity of the honeymoon period to make positive changes to their diet and lifestyle by working together and supporting each other.”

When there is nobody there to tell you not to buy that pudding, or that packet of crisps, losing weight and sticking to a health regime can be difficult. However, when another person gets involved you tend to feel more obliged to stick to your diet.

Moving in together is a big lifestyle change, and one that can be great for your physical health as long as you support one another and try not to slip into bad habits.

For information on how a nutritionist could help you and your partner keep healthy, head over to Nutrition Topics now.