study<\/a> and professor of nursing at the University of Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cBut now there\u2019s growing evidence to suggest that fathers\u2019 weight at conception is an important indicator for pregnancy and child outcomes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
True in humans<\/p>\n
Bernard Robaire, a pharmacology professor at McGill University who researches how the environment impacts male fertility, says research with animals has shown obese or overweight fathers are more likely to have children who are also obese or overweight. <\/p>\n
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Sperm can carry markers associated with obesity, says Robaire, who was not part of Dennis\u2019 study.<\/p>\n
The same trend is true in humans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn humans, there\u2019s clearly a preponderance of increased obese children of fathers who are obese, but you have to take into account potentially other factors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Factors such as the home environment may also have an impact. For example, it is likely that fathers and children are eating similar food, so if there is unhealthy food at home, children are likely to eat it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018A lot can happen\u2019<\/p>\n
A father\u2019s health can impact children in many ways, says Dennis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Research has shown a connection between environmental pollutants fathers are exposed to before a child is conceived and the health of the baby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The research study also found evidence suggesting that fathers who have diabetes and metabolic syndromes are more likely to father children with low birth weights.<\/p>\n
Infants born with low birth weights are more likely to die in infancy and are at greater risk of developing physical, developmental, cognitive or mental disabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis aligns with research indicating that paternal conditions may contribute to low birth weight by influencing fetal development and placental health,\u201d the study says.<\/p>\n
Studying the health of fathers before conception is important, says Dennis. While women are born with a fixed number of eggs, men produce sperm throughout their lifetime. It takes sperm about three months to develop, so changes in lifestyle can have an impact on the health of sperm.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot can happen with that sperm,\u201d says Dennis. \u201cWe can improve the quality of that sperm pre-conceptionally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Canada is currently developing its first federal men\u2019s health strategy<\/a>. This strategy should consider men\u2019s health before, during and after their children are born, says Dennis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cWe have undervalued the role of the father in progeny and the children,\u201d said Robaire. More systematic studies on the topic are needed, he says.<\/p>\n
Dennis agrees. \u201cIt\u2019s not just the moms that impact child\u2019s development and growth trajectories [and] pregnancy outcomes,\u201d said Dennis. <\/p>\n
\u201c[Fathers] matter too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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