A Married Man Is a Healthy Man
By Suzanne Rostler

    Men who become widowed or divorced may lose more than a spouse. They are also likely to give up a range of health habits that help protect against disease and early death, results of a study suggest.
    丧偶或离异的男子所失去的也许并不仅仅是他们的配偶。一项研究结果显示，他们还可能会舍弃一系列有益健康的习惯，这些习惯有助于预防疾病及早逝。
    The findings, which are scheduled to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Monterey, California, show that recently divorced and widowed men eat fewer vegetables, drink more alcohol, and are less likely to quit smoking than their married counterparts.
    研究结果表明，与已婚同类人相比，新近离异或丧偶的男子摄取的蔬菜减少，饮酒增加， 并且不易戒烟。这项结果计划于本周在加州蒙特瑞举行的美国精神与身体协会的年会上发表。
    The study results support the idea that marriage is good for men. Research has shown, for instance, that divorced men are more likely to drink, smoke, commit suicide, develop Alzheimer's disease, and die prematurely.
    研究结果支持这样一种说法，即婚姻对男子有益。调查显示，离异的男性较易酗酒，吸烟，自杀，易患早老性痴呆病，甚至早逝。
    In the current trial of nearly 30,000 men, vegetable intake declined by more than three servings per week in men following the death of a spouse, and nearly two servings per week after a divorce.
    最近一次对近三万名男子所作的调查发现，男性在丧偶之后每周食用的蔬菜减少了三次以上，而离异者则减少了将近两次。
    Divorced men were also more likely to smoke than their married peers but those who remarried were likely to quit, findings show. Widowed men were more likely than married men to drink heavily----more than 21 drinks a week.
    研究结果显示，与已婚同类人相比，离异男子吸烟的可能性增加，而再婚者则可能戒烟。 与已婚者比较，丧偶男性酗酒的可能性更大 ---- 他们每周多喝21杯酒以上的酒。
    It is not clear from the study why widowers or newly single men may be more lax when it comes to their health, but study co-author Dr. Ichiro Kawachi speculates that women have a salutary effect on men.
    调查未作说明，为何鳏夫及新近丧偶者会更忽视健康问题。 但研究报告的另一作者Ichiro Kawachi 博士推测，女性对男性的健康起着有益的作用。
    “Women in general are much better at keeping doctor and dentist appointments. And there may be an unequal distribution of cooking tasks at home...even though most women are also working in paid jobs,'' said Kawachi, from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.
    “一般来说, 女性能更加按时地看医生和牙医，而且，尽管大多数女性也得工作挣钱，家中的烹饪活儿还是她们干得更多些。”麻省波士顿哈佛公众健康学院的Kawachi 博士如是说。
    Indeed, newly single men also increased their consumption of fried foods outside the home.
    的确，新近丧偶的男子在外食用更多的油炸食物。
    Kawachi said that doctors should be aware of their male patients' marital status and inquire about changes when their health habits begin to slip.
    Kawachi说，医生应该了解男性病人的婚姻状况， 如果他们有益健康的习惯出现衰退，应询问其婚姻状况是否有变。
    According to an earlier study, divorce or marital separation more than doubled the risk of suicide in men but was unrelated to suicide risks in women. Another study linked lower blood pressure in men with social support from a spouse.
    早先一项研究显示，离异或夫妻分居使男性自杀的危险倍增，却与女性自杀的可能性无关。另一项研究认为，男性较低的血压与来自配偶的社会支持有关。