Dealbreaker?

According to AskMen's Great Male Survey of 2011, almost half of the 70,000 men surveyed would dump a girlfriend if she "became fat". On the other hand, about 20 percent of the women surveyed would dump a boyfriend if he gained weight. I'm not surprised by these findings, but they are interesting nonetheless. 
"Fat" is definitely an objective term. The survey also doesn't address how much weight a girl would have to gain in order for her boyfriend to call it quits, but the principle remains the same. One could view the results of this survey as very disconcerting, but there's different factors to consider. 
Some people prefer certain lifestyles and want a partner who has a similar lifestyle. Fitness and sports are both major parts of my life and always will be. I truly cannot imagine being with someone who didn't love sports or enjoy working out or being fit. I wouldn't necessarily require my significant other to love every sport I do as much as I do, but us sharing a healthy lifestyle really isn't negotiable. If my boyfriend started out fit and healthy and suddenly that lifestyle changed I don't know that our relationship could survive. I don't think that's an awful thing, I think wanting to share a lifestyle with someone absolutely makes sense.
People also have personal physical preferences and unfortunately there is no way to change those preferences.
However, relationships can definitely cause weight gain. Between dinners out, watching movies on the couch, and losing the desire to impress it's pretty common to go up a dress size or two in a relationship. I know it's not practical to keep up the same exercise routine when you're in a relationship as it is when you're single. For that reason, I think it's unfair to break up with someone because he or she gained a few pounds. A better solution would be trying to eat healthier and become more active. That change might be all that is needed to get back on track. 


Source: Half of Men Say They Would Leave a Partner Who Gained Weight

Posted in: fitness, health, relationships, weight