Setting aside what you might think about the dad bod fascination — what is it, exactly?
That pudgier, decidedly-unripped look that the internet has decided is the epitome of cool is a real, measurable thing, according to the New York Times blog The Upshot.
Reporters Josh Barro and Justin Wolfers took a look at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which asks 5,000 men and women to answer questions about their lives and be measured and tested for data on our national health.
What did they find?
“On average, dads are 10 pounds heavier than non-dads; they’re carrying nearly an extra two inches on their waist; and their bellies stick out an extra half-inch,” they write.
Despite the dads’ heavier weight, they were just as likely to describe themselves as “about the right weight,” Barro and Wolfers write. And if you ask the dads what their ideal weight is, they said a number five pounds heavier than the non-dads. About the same percentage of both groups, 70 percent, said they hadn’t made any effort to lose extra weight, either.
“Over the years, as these men relax into fatherhood, their waistline seems to relax with them,” they write.
That’s the thing — the relaxing. The dads seem to be pretty comfortable with themselves. Could this be what is attractive about the dad bod: confidence, or self-acceptance?
Those are classically attractive traits that transcend body type, age and even gender.
So let’s forget about dad bods and focus instead of self love.
