Family Influences on Health

The rapid growth of overweight and obese popula-tions in recent decades has spurred research across disciplines to better understand the causes of this serious health problem. Obesity has been linked with adverse health outcomes among adults in both developed and developing countries (The World Health Organization 2006). Although genetics and biology are important determinants of obesity, there is increasing interest in the study of social conditions and processes that may be associated with individuals ’ gains in body mass index (BMI) and increased risk of overweight (BMI ≥ 25) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30). One way to assess the contribution of social conditions to individuals ’ BMI and risk of obesity is to study how changing social contexts are asso-ciated with concurrent changes in BMI. In this study, changes in marital status (transitioning into or out of a union) are explored in relation to changes in adult BMI over a three-year period. Although marriage has generally been linked to better health and health behaviors (Waite 1995; Waite and Gallagher 2000; Wood, Goesling, and Avellar 2007), it is evident, at least in the United States, that transitioning into a union is associated with increasing BMI among adults. Union dissolu-tion, on the other hand, is associated with weigh