The time immediately after marriage may be a wonderful window of opportunity for you to get started on the way toward better physical fitness.

Results of a new study by researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine revealed that wedding bells often signal the start of a surge in physical activity for newly married men and women.

"The results suggest that marriage may potentially set the stage for natural changes in physical activity that could be capitalized on through appropriate intervention," wrote Dr. Abby C. King and her colleagues in "Annals of Behavioral Medicine."

The 10-year study analyzed the activity level of 302 women and 256 men from central California from the age of 25 to 75. The new brides and grooms reported a pattern of increases in physical activity in the several years following marriage, compared with those who remained single, the study showed.

By the 10th year, however, all four groups showed about the same activity levels, and all had declined slightly since the first year. Marriage did not change overall levels of physical activity; instead, it apparently caused a temporary shift, and that, to researchers, spells "window of opportunity."

Copyright 1999 Health Resources Publishing