Colloquially, the expression ‘Dad
Bod’ refers to men, particularly fathers, who have a nice layer of flab covering
their lean muscle. Unsurprisingly, the
word dad in front of anything has never been seen as cool, whether it be
dad jokes, dad jeans, or more relevantly dad bods.
Until recently, the reasons as to why men
gained fat and lost muscle tone after getting married or becoming a father have
been attributed to bad habits or a lack of effort. However, studies are now revealing
physiological changes might be to blame, such that men who are committed partners
or involved fathers tend to have lower testosterone[1].
Consequently, these men are thought to have evolved this capacity to promote empathy
and attunement to the needs of their babies[2].
Similarly, a study done on two hunter and gatherer populations found that men
who slept immediately next to their families had lower testosterone than the men
who slept away from their families[3].
Importantly, lower testosterone increased the threshold needed for reactive aggression,
so men become less likely to abuse their children or be involved in aggressive interactions
that are costly to their families. Thus,
a decrease in testosterone has significant effects on behavior and physiology,
but can lower testosterone also have changes in physique? In countries like the
United States, where people tend to eat more and move less, men with reduced testosterone
had more body fat[4].
Therefore, the dad bod is a physical
manifestation of physiological changes happening after parenthood which make
men better fathers, and hence should be celebrated.
Gettler,
L. (2017, April 17). On the origins of "dad bod". Retrieved from
https://blog.oup.com/2017/04/origins-dad-bod/.
[1] Van Anders, S. M., Goldey, K. L., & Kuo, P. X. (2011).
The steroid/peptide theory of social bonds: integrating testosterone and
peptide responses for classifying social behavioral contexts. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36(9),
1265-1275.
[2] Fleming,
A. S., Corter, C., Stallings, J., & Steiner, M. (2002). Testosterone and
prolactin are associated with emotional responses to infant cries in new
fathers. Hormones and behavior, 42(4), 399-413.
[3] Muller,
M. N., Marlowe, F. W., Bugumba, R., & Ellison, P. T. (2008). Testosterone
and paternal care in East African foragers and pastoralists. Proceedings of the
Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1655), 347-354.
[4] Brand,
J. S., Rovers, M. M., Yeap, B. B., Schneider, H. J., Tuomainen, T. P., Haring,
R., ... & Tong, P. C. (2014). Testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin
and the metabolic syndrome in men: an individual participant data meta-analysis
of observational studies. PloS one, 9(7), e100409.
Feruth, I think this post is very well written and kept me entertained and wanting to read and research more about this topic. I think this is a very interesting phenomenon! My only concern is the layer of flab associated with the "dad bod" can be stored as visceral fat. This kind of fat accumulation is also associated with adverse, long-term metabolic effects (Rosqvist, F. et al). So, while the "dad bod" might promote an increased ability as a father, it could have potential negative health effects in the long run.
ReplyDeleteFor this I would say the "dad bod" should be celebrated in moderation. This was we can have good and healthy fathers!
Rosqvist, F., Iggman, D., Kullberg, J., Cedernaes, J., Johansson, H., Larsson, A., Johansson, L., Ahlström, H., Arner, P., Dahlman, I., Risérus, U. (2014). Overfeeding Polyunsaturated and Saturated Fat Causes Distinct Effects on Liver and Visceral Fat Accumulation in Humans. Diabetes 63(7), 2356-2368; DOI: 10.2337/db13-1622
This post was very interesting (your title definitely stood out!) and reminds me of a paper I recently read about the attractiveness of "the manly man" versus the attractiveness of a man with more "feminine" qualities. The paper essentially came to the conclusion that men with more masculine qualities (such as a beard and more muscle tone) while more attractive initially to females, were also less likely to be desired for long-term, monogamist relationships. On the other hand, clean shaven men with "dad bods" were viewed by women as preferable long term partners. I think this supports your conclusion, that less testosterone is indicative of a more reliable mate!
ReplyDeleteDixson, B.J.W., Sulikowski, D., Gouda‐Vossos, A., Rantala, M.J. and Brooks, R.C. (2016), The masculinity paradox: facial masculinity and beardedness interact to determine women's ratings of men's facial attractiveness. J. Evol. Biol., 29: 2311-2320. doi:10.1111/jeb.12958
DeleteHere is that paper! Forgot to attach it earlier!