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The DadBod Explained: Fatherhood Makes Men Fat

The dad bod phenomenon is finally put to rest as the reason for the weight increase is already looked upon and finally explained. As per report on The Daily Mail, men, after entering fatherhood gain an average of around 4 pounds in years after their first child is born.

§  Men who became fathers saw an average 2.6 per cent rise in their BMI 

§  Changing lifestyle is likely to play a part, such as buying sugary snacks

They then sighted out that men going into fatherhood, already have new responsibilities in which sometimes involve a lot of sugar intake and a sedentary lifestyle, most especially for fathers of a newly born infant.

A paediatrician named Dr. Craig Garfield from Northwest University Feinberg School of Medicine along with his colleagues looked into a database on more than 10,000 men beginning at the age of 12 in which they later on followed up after 20 years. They specifically researched on how the Body Mass Index changed over time as they either became fathers or not, and a substantial increase on BMI was shown for men with children as per TIME.                                                                    

But where did the dadbod came from, and how was it categorized as a body type? It became viral after a 19-year-old Psychology major student named Macenzie Pearson wrote an essay regarding the most famed dad bod, it is her way of telling men in general that they too need to embrace their selves with a positive body image as mentioned in BuzzFeed.

Pearson describes the dad bod as a guy who says, "I go to the gym occasionally, but I also drink heavily on the weekends and enjoy eating eight slices of pizza at a time."

"While we all love a sculpted guy, there is just something about the dad bod that makes boys seem more human, natural, and attractive."

She sees the dad bod as a celebration of normal guys over male models. "It's almost as if I started a movement for positive male body image, which is something I don't think our culture realized we need," she said.


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