Being married triples the risk of obesity in men, new research suggests.

Experts found the risk of being overweight increases for both sexes when married, but appears to be particularly acute for men.

The research will be presented in May at the European Congress on Obesity, in Spain, and was carried out on couples in Poland.

Researchers found both men and women tend to be heavier when married, with marriage increasing the risk of being overweight by 62 per cent in men and 39 per cent in women, compared with those who are unmarried.

Married men were also 3.2 times more likely to be obese than unmarried men, while no such link was found between married and unmarried women.

The researchers suggested this may be due to cultural differences in attitudes towards obesity in men and women.