A report published by the Centers for Disease control and Prevention suggests that married adults are healthier and happier than singles, whether divorced, widowed or never married.

The report titled "Marital Status and Health: United States, 1999-2002", is based on interviews with 1,27,545 adults aged 18 and above as part of the National Health Interview Survey, conducted by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Out of 1,27,545 adults who were interviewed, 60 per cent of them are married while 10.4 percent are separated, or divorced, 6.6 per cent widowed and 19 per cent are never married.

The report focuses on health status and limitations, health conditions and health-related behaviors according to marital status and also by age, race, ethnicity and socio-economic factors such as education and poverty status.

Reports find out that:

1. Married adults are less likely to suffer from health conditions such as headaches and serious psychological distress.

2. They are also more active in work and in other activities than unmarried adults.

3. The survey found that that married people are less likely to become heavier drinkers than they already were.

The only category in which married adults fared poorly was weight, primarily because married men are more likely to be fed too much by their wives and hence are likely to be heavier, said a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

"Wives are especially good at what social scientists call 'social support' and ordinary people call 'nagging. And it turns out that nagging works," said columnist Maggie Gallagher, who heads the Washington-based Institute for Marriage and Public Policy.

Though report does not state why married adults are happier and healthier but researchers feel that marriage has a protective effect.