In addition to your annual physical checkups, married Americans are doing the same to protect the health of their unions.

As part of a clinical trial in Worcester, Mass., roughly 200 couples are getting a Marriage Checkup to evaluate how their marriages are doing. Psychologist James Cordova who runs the project claims "Marriages are a health issue. Your marital health doesn't catch your attention until it really starts to hurt. By that point, sometimes irreversible damage has been done." The annual marriage checkup isn't like going to therapy, it's an evalation of your marriage that identifies areas of concern and issues that may be a problem in the long run.

The results? "Couples are feeling more like a team," says Cordova. "They are feeling a greater sense of empathy and understanding towards each other."

With as high of a divorce rate this country has, it may be a great idea. The amount of stress marriage problems can cause us do in fact affect us not just emotionally, but physically.

What do you think?