May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Working mothers who are in relationships are less likely to become obese than mothers who stay at home, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Weight gain tended to occur at a faster rate among homemakers and showed 38 percent of homemakers were likely to be obese compared to 23 percent of women who juggled multiple roles, the study said.

``Good health among women is more likely to be the result rather than the cause of multiple role occupation,'' researchers led by Anne McMunn of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London wrote.

The findings were based on women participating in the Medical Research Council National Study of Health and Development which tracks the long-term health of British men and women born in 1946 throughout their life.

The women interviewed for the study started families and careers in a ``highly structured and traditional'' environment and were married at young ages, the youngest ever to be recorded since civil registration began, researchers wrote.

``The extent to which the results shown here are sex and generation specific given the rapid diversification of social roles in more recent cohorts is an area for future investigation,'' the researchers said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Frick in Zurich at kfrick@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 14, 2006 19:32 EDT