Back to TTM ResultsThe quality of intimate relationships is clearly linked to well-being including physical and mental health. We measured height, weight and body fat during the lab sessions and asked couples about their health at each study phase so that we could track changes in physical condition that might be related to changes in the quality of relationships.
From the height and weight, we calculated a measure of body fat called the Body Mass Index, or BMI. The BMI is a ratio of weight to height-squared and it is used to indicate health risks that may be associated with weight, for example, being over or under weight. The Canadian guidelines for healthy weight for adults between 20 to 65 years of age suggests that a healthy BMI range is between 20-25. A generally healthy range for most people is between 25 and 27. A BMI of less than 20 may be associated with underweight health problems such as poor nutrition or eating disorders (CDC, 2009). A BMI of over 27 suggests an increasing risk for developing health problems such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, type II diabetes, and some types of cancer.
In the TTM study, the average BMI at the beginning of the study was 25.8 for men and 24.21 for women. This indicates that the majority of couples were in the healthy range. At the end of the study, the average BMI was 26.26 for men and 24.37 for women.