Men seem to stop trying when they remarry, putting on pounds and cutting down on exercise, a study suggests.

But overall, researchers found that men eat better after remarrying, munching on more vegetables and lean poultry while drinking less alcohol and fewer sugary drinks.

The study, published Monday by the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, surveyed nearly 40,000 male health-care professionals who ranged in age from 40 to 75 when research started in 1986.

Men tend to drink less alcohol after remarrying.

The authors, from Harvard University's schools of medicine and public health, quizzed respondents periodically about their marital status, their diet and their health until 1994.

They found that men who remarried gained weight and exercised less in comparison to others who remained widowed, divorced or separated.

The study, Effects of Marital Transitions on Changes in Dietary and Other Health Behaviours in U.S. Male Health Professionals, also found:

• Men whose wives died were more likely to drink, and ate fewer vegetables than men who stayed married.
• Men whose marriages broke up tended to lose weight.

The researchers concluded that marriage breakups harm men's health, especially their diets.