Let’s get married

Little 500 weekend is a time when IU students are known to get involved in some pretty unhealthy activities.

This weekend alone might be the sole reason some students will develop liver problems in the years to come. This might be the weekend when many will finally contract that STD they’ve been hoping to avoid.

There are bound to be health issues that arise as a result of this weekend, and I think I might have figured out a way for IU students to redeem their well-being.

We should all get married.

Does that sound silly? I suppose we are a bit young. Though I recently attended my 20-year-old cousin’s wedding and, I must say, the kid has never looked happier. He and his 20-year-old bride are now a married couple and share a beautiful, loving relationship.

They are certainly more productive than other 20-year-olds I know. They’re starting a family while many of us are still goofing around and trying to avoid excise for the next few months before we turn 21.

I suggest we all get married, because I recently learned that married people are, generally, healthier than everyone else. According to new studies reported by The New York Times, those who are married are less likely to get pneumonia, need surgery, have heart attacks or develop cancer. Additionally, a group of Swedish researchers has found that being married is linked to a lower risk of dementia.

Though getting married might help lower our risk of many different health problems, there is one catch: We would have to be happy. It might be obvious, but we would have to be in “healthy relationships.” According to the Times, the health advantages linked to marriage do not extend to those who are in troubled relationships. In fact, one study even indicated that a stressful marriage could be as bad for the heart as a smoking habit.

So I guess we should all make sure that we’re marrying the right person. Easy enough.

One of the main reasons why people in healthy, loving marriages tend to have better health is because they have a sense of stability and comfort. Though many might argue that we are too young to get married right now, it’s still possible for us to find similar stability and comfort in the relationships we have with the friends and loved ones in our lives at this moment.

Maybe the data specify that the statistics only apply to married people, but there are certainly health benefits to be gained from having people in our lives who love us. Some of them will be the ones pounding shots right next to us all weekend.

This Little 500, I’m sure many of us will not necessarily be practicing the healthiest lifestyle choices, but we will be experiencing one of the greatest college weekends with the people who love us — and they don’t have to be our spouse to carry us home.


E-mail: jzaslow@indiana.edu