Obesity a growing problem for Irish fathers-to-be
The Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital has called for fathers to take better care of their health by exercising, eating healthily and stopping smoking.
Research by Dr Ross Kelly and his colleagues at the UCD Centre for Human Reproduction in the Coombe found that one in six fathers-to-be in Ireland were obese. Half were overweight and were likely to become obese as their children grew up.
Professor Michael Turner of Coombe Hospital said: “Obese fathers are more likely to get diabetes and heart disease, and they are more likely to die young.
“This is bad news, not just for fathers, but also for families if they are not able to care for them or provide for mothers and their children through ill health or death.”
He said obese fathers are two to four times more likely to have obese children.
“Fathers have a responsibility to their children as well as to themselves to promote a healthy lifestyle for all the family,” he said. “Obesity reverberates through the generations at great cost. We must all work to break this cycle of obesity.”
The main findings of the study were:
* Only 22% of couples were in the normal body mass index (BMI) category;
* Only one of three fathers-to-be had normal BMI;
* One in six fathers was already obese, increasing lifetime risks such as diabetes, which may affect his ability to support the family.
Previous research at the UCD Centre in the Coombe has shown that maternal obesity is associated with an increase in pregnancy complications for both the mother and her baby, and an increase in pregnancy interventions such as caesarean section.
“This research shows that paternal obesity is as common as maternal obesity in Ireland but that men are twice as likely to be overweight,” the hospital said.
“They also have more visceral fat, known more commonly as a ‘beer belly’, which is the fat that carries the highest risk of diabetes and heart disease. Also, 40% continue to smoke which also increases their risk of heart disease and cancer, as well as exposing their children to the risks of passive smoking.”
