Swedish men should watch their weight as they approach the age of 18 years if they want to get married. In a study of nearly 500 000 Swedish men, those who were underweight, overweight, or obese at 18 were significantly less likely to be married at 40 than men who fell within the normal weight range at 18. Obesity at 18 conferred the worst risk. The authors suggest stigma and discrimination partly explain their findings, but Minerva suspects that their underlying emotional problems could be equally relevant (BMC Public Health 2012;12:833, doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-833).

Risk-taking behaviour by teenagers is driven by their tolerance of …