Far from making us feel light-hearted in every sense, love can impact our waistlines. A study by Maïa Baudelaire, renowned nutrition expert and founder of I Love My Diet Coach® and the CCM Benchmark Method, shows how relationships change eating habits and often lead to weight gain. These findings offer valuable, evidence-based insights into couple dynamics and nutrition.
On a first date, 47% of couples pay close attention to their restaurant menu choices. This makes sense—most prefer a refined dining experience over fast food. Among these couples, 90% opt for easy-to-eat, digestible dishes like fish en papillote with vegetables, avoiding messy options such as sauerkraut or spaghetti that could detract from their appeal.
For 74% of couples, cooking together is a key activity that fosters sharing and enjoyment. Food rarely sparks conflict, with 82% reporting harmony at the table. This stems from 55% adapting menus to mutual tastes, 19% sharing identical preferences, and just 19% imposing their own. Meals also provide quality time, as 90% agree, with 64% dining together nearly daily.
The study confirms that cohabitation improves dietary balance for 54% of couples. Notably, 41% report healthier eating since partnering up, thanks to home-cooked meals for two (47%), motivation to stay fit for their partner (22%), and positive spousal influence (21%).
On the flip side, 13% eat less healthily due to mimicking poor habits (59%), more frequent dining out (17%), or increased fridge stocking from higher combined income (17%).
Ultimately, 32% of participants say they've eaten more since coupling up, with over one-third gaining weight post-move-in—32% between 5-10 kg. This often occurs in the first three years (40% of cases), largely from sedentary TV time (56%). Just being in love affects 55% of couples' diets, impacting 60% of women—40% of whom eat more than when single.
These statistics, drawn from expert analysis, highlight the need for mindful habits and shared activities to maintain balance.
*Study by Maïa Baudelaire, November 2014, on a CCM Benchmark Panel—Institute sample of 1,000 cohabiting individuals, representative of the French population by gender, age, socio-professional category, and region.
