"Dadbod Is Real". Science Says So.

Men who become fathers experience weight gain and an increase in body mass index, a measurement of body fat based on height and weight, according to a new, large-scale study that tracked more than 10,000 men over a 20-year period. Men who didn't become dads actually lost weight over the same time period.

Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine found this info with researchers describing the study on fatherhood and young men's BMIs as the first of its kind.

"Fatherhood can affect the health of young men, above the already known effect of marriage," lead author Craig Garfield, a Northwestern associate professor, said in a release. "The more weight the fathers gain and the higher their BMI, the greater risk they have for developing heart disease as well as diabetes and cancer."

Weight gain differed based on whether dads lived with their children or not. First-time "resident dads" (those who live with their children) experienced an average 2.6 percent increase in their BMIs over the study period. Non-resident dads experienced 2 percent increase. That translates to a 1.9kg weight gain for a 6-foot-tall dad who lives with his child and a 1.5kg weight gain for a non-resident dad. Meanwhile, a similar 6-foot-tall man who had no kids? He lost 0.6kg.

The BMI increase may be the result of lifestyle changes, researchers said.

"You have new responsibilities when you have your kids and may not have time to take care of yourself the way you once did in terms of exercise," Garfield said. "Your family becomes the priority."

The study started in 1994 with BMI measurements being taken of 10,253 men at four different stages in life ranging between early adolescence and the early 30s. While BMIs generally change over time as men age, the way these men's changed depended on whether they were dads.

Researchers controlled for other factors that may account for differences in weight gain, such as age, race, education, income, daily activity and marriage status, which is already known to be tied to weight gain.

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