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According to a new research, men are much more likely to lose weight if their other halves criticise, confront and reject them, rather than offer sugar-coated encouragement.
American researchers who studied how couples support each other in the battle of the bulge found men who lacked motivation to diet and exercise got much better results if their wives gave them a hard time over it. But the same approach does not work for women, the study found.
They found women regularly criticised by their partner for gaining extra pounds were unlikely to take action, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
The psychologists behind the study, from the University of California in Los Angeles, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Florida State University, said they think the reason may be that women already face such intense pressure from society to remain slim that if they have not already been prompted to do something about their weight, a few harsh words from their husbands is unlikely to make much difference.
The findings, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, show giving negative feedback can sometimes have positive benefits in a relationship.
The researchers came up with the results after studying weight gain in newlywed couples.
Psychologists wanted to explore how married couples supported each other in losing weight gained during the first few years of being together.
The aim was to determine the most effective way for husbands and wives to help each other succeed in slimming down.
They recruited 165 couples, mostly in their early twenties, who had been married only a few years and who had gained weight after tying the knot.
Each one was weighed and quizzed on whether they had succeeded in losing some or all of the extra pounds. They were then asked to classify their partners' support in terms of whether it had been positive and encouraging, or negative and critical.
The results showed husbands who whinged and moaned about being overweight were more likely to start dieting and exercising if they faced what psychologists call 'oppositional behaviour' from their wives - or constant criticism rather than sympathy.
"Husbands who tended to whine, complain and avoid responsibility (for their weight) gained less weight over time if their wives engaged in oppositional behaviours," researchers said.
"But wives already face ubiquitous pressure to be thin and that leaves little room for husbands to additionally motivate them," they concluded.
