Living alone could be good for your weight

Good news for people living alone: A forthcoming paper shows that single adults — of any sexual orientation — are physically healthier when it comes to body mass index. The study, which appears in the January edition of the Journal of Family Issues , found that living without a partner — either divorced or never married — is associated with lower body weight.

Sociologist Jay Teachman of Western Washington University used 20 years of data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Study of Youth and more than 3,000 participants to examine body weight, marital status, and what he calls relationship "transitions" — that is, breakups.