Marriage is key to a better life

London: Marriage cheers you up, improves your diet and helps you live longer, researchers say.

It brings better mental and physical health, reducing the chance of premature death by 15 per cent, according to a major studies in seven European countries.

And the longer a marriage lasts the more the rewards accumulate the only catch being that the relationship has to be loving and supportive.

John Gallacher, a Cardiff University academic who reviewed the European studies, said the happily married were more likely to eat healthily, have more friends and take better care of each other.

"Marriage and other forms of partnership can be placed along a sliding scale of commitment, with greater commitment conferring greater benefit," he said.

"That marriage generally indicates a deeper commitment might explain why marriage is associated with better mental health outcomes than cohabiting. Cohabiting relationships tend to be less enduring. The most widely accepted explanation is that being in a committed relationship means better social support is available.

"Commitment seems to provide networks of supportive and helpful relationships, beginning with the spouse or partner, leading to more healthy lifestyles and better emotional and physical health."

The research findings were reviewed by Dr Gallacher and his doctor son David in an editorial for the British Medical Journal.

Many married couples are often unaware of the advantages, they said, but a study of one billion ‘person years' found husbands and wives were 10-15 per cent less likely to die prematurely.