title: Getting ready for the marriage market? The association between divorce risks and investments in attractive body mass among married Europeans.
abstract: This article explores to what extent married middle-aged individuals in Europe are governed by the risk of experiencing divorce, when shaping their physical appearance. The main result is that divorce risks, proxied by national divorce rates, are negatively connected to body mass index (BMI) among married individuals but unrelated to BMI among singles. Hence, it seems that married people in societies where divorce risks are high are more inclined to invest in their outer appearance. One interpretation is that high divorce rates make married people prepare for a potential divorce and future return to the marriage market.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Petter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lundborg
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nystedt
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lindgren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001504:Beauty; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004243:Divorce / Q000523:psychology*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012306:Risk; D012847:Single Person / Q000523:psychology*; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*