A new study has found that the more supportive a persons marriage, the less likely they are to gain weight or become obese in middle age.

Published in Health Psychology positive social relationship can be an asset to a person's health.

“This study suggests a supportive marital relationship is associated with healthier body weight in midlife,” said study co-author Ying Chen to Time.

2,650 people who were married or in long-term “marriage-like” relationships about their levels of marital support, strain, and quality of their partnerships.

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They assigned numerical values to their relationships based on these responses, then tracked weight gain over nine years.

Researchers found that people with high levels of marriage quality and support were less likely to gain weight than people in less supportive marriages. They also had a 10% lower risk of obesity.

Marital strain did not appear to strongly affect weight gain.

Unmarried couples in committed relationships saw the same weight benefits as married couples.