Study suggests fathers are more likely to be referred for nutrition, exercise counselling

Overweight, obese men who are fathers are more likely to be referred for nutrition or exercise counselling as compared to the men without children, suggests a new study published by Elsevier in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour. Researchers from the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing studied 2,562 men visiting their medical provider for both routine and sick visits. This study corroborates other researchers' findings that only 20 per cent to 40 per cent of obese patients report receiving nutrition or weight loss counselling. As previous research has shown, fathers' commitment to their children has increased as evidenced by the increased time (doubled) that fathers spend on a child's care. Researchers have documented that fathers are more committed to weight programs that enable them to support their children (and families) and focus on child health and well-being rather than solely on their own health. This study furthers a general understanding of weight-related practices and management during clinic visits for men, in general, and fathers, in particular.