According to a new survey, men who are not consulted about healthy changes to the daily dinner menu by their wives are more likely to binge on fast food, when away from home.
A study by the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health focused on how men described the roles their wives played in shaping their eating behaviour.
It found the 83 African-American volunteers were rarely consulted about how meals could be made less fattening and often disliked the healthy changes their wives made.
Crucially, however, these men preferred to “maintain marital harmony” than put up a fight.
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"The key to married men adopting a healthier diet is for couples to discuss and negotiate the new, healthier menu changes as a team,” said Derek Griffith, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, to the Daily Mail.
"I think at dinner a lot of men are eating healthier, but they compensate for the dissatisfaction of not eating what they want by making unhealthier choices outside the home," Griffith said.
Physicians can help by recognizing that wives play a central role in what men eat at home, Griffith said.
“Doctors could suggest that men have a tactful conversation with their wives in a way that ensures the husbands aren't sleeping on the couch that night,” Griffith said.