Do More Kids Make Dad Healthier?
As the youngest of six and father of two (so far), I’m a fan of most things that promote having more children. It’s a rare message in our country today. With our ever more uncertain economic future, these days more couples are deciding to have either no children or waiting until they are older to have maybe one. But this past month research came out suggesting that men who love their heart may want to consider having multiple kids.
A new study says that men who have either no children or only one are much more likely to develop heart disease compared to fathers with a full quiver of offspring. Researchers studied nearly 138,000 married or once-married men over 50 years of age. Their research covered more than ten years and discovered some alarming numbers. The men who never fathered children were 17% more likely to die from heart disease compared to fathers of multiple children and 13% more likely to die from cardiovascular problems than men who had sired only one child.
The main researcher, Dr. Michael Eisenberg, made it clear that more research is necessary to see obvious direct connections of number of kids and heart disease. However, the researchers were careful to take into account other heart risk factors like smoking or body mass index. Eisenberg isn’t sure why fathers of two or more have healthier hearts, but the numbers don’t lie.
Eisenberg’s two main theories for his findings are worlds apart. One possibility links heart disease to infertility. In fact, Eisenberg and his team specialize in infertility research and they did the study hoping to find a connection between infertility and men’s overall health. Eisenberg said,
A lot of times when we see men for infertility, they’re very young. A lot of these men are totally healthy. It’s sort of eye-opening to hear there could be something else going on.
However, this particular study did not supply figures on how many of the fatherless men were infertile and how many simply avoided procreation. In other words, the study gives no clear proof that fertility has anything to do with heart disease. Of course, some in the media jumped all over a big story linking low sperm count to chest pains. MSNBC, for example, began their story: “Dads are less likely to die of heart disease than men who’ve never had kids, a study out Monday found, raising new questions about a possible biological link between male infertility and overall health.”
The media speculation notwithstanding, even Eisenberg readily admitted there might be more to the research besides the infertility link.
There may be more than just a biologic reason. … Maybe having children causes men to have healthier behaviors, so fathers will live longer.
Something obvious to consider: Maybe healthier men are likely to have more children. Why assume that the cause and effect behind this statistical correlation go in the less obvious direction?
Why assume that the cause and effect behind this statistical correlation go in the less obvious direction?
Because: 1. Egghead research professors are incapable of seeing and pointing to the obvious; 2. The funding for this study (in all likelihood provided by you and me) dictates that the research trail go a different direction than the obvious; 3. Egghead research professors must create ‘busy’ work so they’ll continue to have jobs, again, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.
1. Nobody is assuming anything at this point. It’s one hypothesis. It needs to be tested. That’s how science is supposed to work.
2. Numerous other studies give strong support to the idea.
3. Your animus against traditional fatherhood is showing.
As Mr. Cooper noted, the study already controlled for the majority of those risk factors. The only significant one they couldn’t control for (because it requires invasive testing and this study was based on a survey) is low testosterone levels, but that doesn’t have nearly the impact on heart disease as all the other risk factors such as obesity, etc. Plus fathers’ testosterone levels also tend to drop, so that probably reduces any confounding effect entirely.
Speaking from experience, I can say that my life is much fuller, more rewarding, and infinitely more satisfying with a home full of vibrant growing children.
My bachelorhood was long and “colorful.” I more freedoms, toys, and adventures than I could count.
As full as life seemed then, it was nothing compared to the richness of becoming a traditional “Dad.” (Married a wonderful woman- then had kids.)
I remember the night before I turned eighteen. I just knew that the world would be transformed the next day and everything would be different for me.
I was disappointed to find that I woke to another ordinary day with no appreciable change.
Then, the night before I turned 21, again I was convinced that the universe would bloom along with my official arrival as a fully legal adult.
Nope. Same old – same old.
This was true for several various graduations, milestones, and achievements across many years.
The “EVENT” that I had been looking for finally arrived the morning after the arrival of my first born. Everything was different from that day forward.
I would not trade 10 minutes of my life since then for another 100 years of bachelorhood.
Quite literally, my life is more valuable to me now than it was then, and I am more careful with it.
“I’d rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.”
(Spoken by a fictional parent who gave it all up for a kid- but something a lot of us can relate to.)
“I’d rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.”
Absolutely Dana.
I cannot remember who said it, but one quote that was given to me is as follows:
“Not every successful man is a good father, but every good father is a successful man.”
It’s amazing how much true wealth we can accumulate – once we start measuring it correctly.
Regards!
As Dana pointed out, testosterone drops once a man becomes a father. Testosterone is implicated in the higher prevalence of heart disease in men, and estrogen tends to protect the heart. Thus if a man’s testosterone decreases, he is less likely to experience its negative effect on his heart.
I doubt seriously the male body ever “knows” or responds to fatherhood at all,
much less with a with a decrease in Testosterone….
Losing sperm is losing sperm, whether by sleeping around alot, or through masturbation…
the conception of a egg inside a female will cause no physiological change at all to the sperm producing male.
It is rather the MOOD AND LIFESTYLE of an aware and concerned “father” that modifies his behavior, and thus modifies his testosterone level by not being “amped up” and “masculine” all the time.
I’m certain there are thousands of highly “testosteroned” males in the ghetto’s of America that have fathered many MANY children, with no decrease at all in their risk taking or aggression factors…a prime indicator of Testosterone level.
And I’m equally certain these men who would not/could not even know of their “fatherhood” status were conspicuously absent from the sample group in any high-brow study of “fatherhood verses Testosterone level”
This B.S. Study is like saying: “People with Gym Memberships are typically “healthier” than those without” and then postulationg that a certain financial transaction on your bank statement might affect Cholesteral levels.
Pure Rubbish.
What’s interesting isn’t that fathers are healthier- as others have mentioned, that’s been demonstrated many times before and it’s been correlated with a reduction in risky behavior like smoking and speeding. In fact, this study would indicate it goes beyond all the risk factors that are under one’s control. So saying fathers simply take care of themselves better- while it’s definitely true- isn’t the explanation for the results of this study. Most of those things were controlled for, because the authors already knew fathers were better at that.
So what the study says is that it’s got something to do with the intangible benefits of fatherhood. Is it decreased stress? Hope for the future? More religious (that’s independently correlated with health, too)? I don’t know, but it seems to be something inherent in fatherhood itself and not secondary to simply taking care of one’s self.
“Eisenberg isn’t sure why fathers of two or more have healthier hearts, but the numbers don’t lie.”
It’s not that complicated. Children give parents a powerful incentive to stay healthy.
I have six and one on the way, so I’m good to go!
“It’s not that complicated. Children give parents a powerful incentive to stay healthy.”
That – and it has forever removed the possibility that we will die of boredom.
“I have six and one on the way, so I’m good to go!”
Pretty much shoots the whole “decreased level of testosterone” thing down.
“That – and it has forever removed the possibility that we will die of boredom.”
Ain’t that the truth!
Ditto! My wife and I were married for 3 years prior to having children (we now have 4) and we frequently ask ourselves ‘What did we do with our time before we had kids’ and the answer that invariably comes back is, “We must have taken a lot of naps!”
Try to keep up, Oscar.
Another factor to consider is that this is all really a co-dependent set of factors. The religious tend to have more children, and when factored for ethnicity and income, also live longer. In America, there are several factors for this:
a) Mormons neither drink nor smoke and they live longer than any other religious group, and of course, have the highest fertility rate.
b) Other conservative Christians tend to eschew alcohol or drink it very little, again generally prolonging lifespans. Alcohol tends to shorten lifespans because the benefits of light drinking (lower heart disease) in a population are outweighed by the issues of heavy drinking (drunk driving deaths, increased violence, and cirrhosis). And they also tend to have higher fertility rates.
The authors were no doubt aware of all of these social effects. Ostensibly, all of these cardiac risk factors were controlled for. That’s why the study is remarkable.
Hello? Catholic?!
Was the study funded by feudalistic Manchus?
How does more kids affect the health of everyone else (or does only dad’s health matter)?
There’s an old joke that goes something like:
“You know what the number one killer of old people is?”
“Retirement.”
I’d say the same thing might be true here also. People who have something to do, whether it’s go to work or take care of their children are healthier, not necessarily because they eat better or exercise more but rather just simply because they have a reason to get up in the mornings.
As a father of one, and hopefully many more to come, I believe this is true! Since the baby came I’ve hardly been able to go out jogging or go to the gym at all, and yet, I seem to be *losing* weight rather than gaining it. My best guess is that this occurs because with the baby around I simply can’t lounge on the sofa for hours watching TV, or sleep in until 11 on saturdays. Even though I’m not “working out”, I spend all day at least a little bit “active” even if that just means staying alert, walking around, paying attention to the baby.
One of my friends has seven kids. He observed that the birth of a child, like marriage, is an event that makes you a better man. His theory as to the number of his blessings is that he “needed a lot more fixing” than the average guy.
“…I simply can’t lounge on the sofa for hours watching TV, or sleep in until 11 on saturdays.”
If I may offer one small item of advice to a “New Dad” – nap with the baby curled up in the crook of your arm, or on your chest, whenever you get the chance.
You only get a limited number of opportunities to do this, and you will not know when the last one has come and gone.
It’s like there is firmware embedded in our brains that does not activate until the baby arrives. It is then that you find out just how deep you can sleep.
I theorize that this latent programming is also responsible for the sudden and overwhelming urge I had to go kill a mammoth the first time my tiny daughter told me she was hungry.
Regards and Congrats to you Dad.
How about this:
Men with children have a reason to live, a reason to care, a reason to wake up.
I recall some smart guy wrote a book dealing with survivors of concentration camps and found that people with “meaning” in their lives had greater liklihood of surviving.
Having children is about the only mistake I’ve never made. “Oh have one, you’ll love it!” Yeah, and I might love heroin if I tried itb–doesn’t mean its a good idea. That said, I’m glad you fathers out there are doing what you’re doing. Someone has to make the next generation if this whole human race thing is going to remain viable! So good on y’all.
The below statements are from the above cited study.
“Surveys suggest that about 75% of childless, married men want to have children, so it may be that many of the men in our group were infertile,” Eisenberg says.
He says that hormonal issues that lead to infertility may also affect heart and vascular disease risk.
Sorry, but I don’t buy it.
The reason I don’t buy it is because it is a “study.” the “Studies” industry has become so corrupted that the validity of most studies can be questioned. This one is at least as likely to be bogus as it is to have substance.
“Surveys suggest that about 75% of childless, married men want to have children, so it may be that many of the men in our group were infertile,” Eisenberg says.
Who in their right mind would want to have a kid? I don’t get it. Again, I’m glad my attitude is not the norm, but I just don’t understand why someone would want to throw their life away like that….
Out of supreme love. You may not understand it, but it is about unconditional love and expressing that unconditional love.
“I’m glad my attitude is not the norm, but I just don’t understand why someone would want to throw their life away like that….”
Kids are not for everyone, and sometimes I think there should be a test to pass before some are allowed to procreate.
With your perspective, parenthood is probably not your forte.
I, for one, respect and appreciate your decision to stay out of the gene pool.
Regards.
Yeah, I’m pro-life as all get-out but I can’t bring myself to regret Maximus’ childlessness.
You poor soul. You have no clue what real riches are.
I don’t say this at all sarcastically or in condemnation. I honestly feel sorry for you, and those who share your viewpoint.
I’m a teacher. In my ninth grade math class, left to themselves, the boys sat on one side of the room and the girls on the other. Result: constant misbehavior from the boys, slouching, talking, messing around, little learning taking place. So I mandated an alternating seating arrangement where the boys had to sit next to girls. Result: instantaneous improvement in behavior from the exact same individuals.
The principle here is a very simple one: males are less likely to behave like idiots when females are around, because no man wants women to see him as a stupid jerk. That same principle goes a long way towards explaining the result of this study.