Strong social relationships, particularly high-quality marriages, may help protect against obesity by influencing a complex communication system between the brain and gut, according to research by UCLA Health.
The study, published in the journal Gut Microbes, is the first to demonstrate how social bonds influence weight and eating behaviours through an integrated pathway involving brain function, metabolism and the hormone oxytocin, sometimes referred to as “the love hormone.”
The findings suggest that the quality of relationships may be just as important to physical health as traditional risk factors like exercise and diet.
Visit: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19490976.2025.2566978