The weight of fatherhood: Identifying mechanisms to explain paternal perinatal weight gain
Abstract
Men appear to gain weight during the transition to parenthood, and fathers are heavier than non-fathers. Paternal perinatal weight gain may set weight trajectories in midlife and have long-term health implications. Since men do not undergo the physical demands of pregnancy and breastfeeding, the specific mechanisms underlying weight gain in new fathers warrant investigation. This review aims to stimulate research on paternal perinatal weight gain by suggesting testable potential mechanisms that (1) show change across the transition to parenthood and (2) play a role in weight and body composition. We identify seven mechanisms, within three categories: behavioural mechanisms (sleep, physical activity, and diet), hormonal mechanisms (testosterone and cortisol), and psychological mechanisms (depression and stress). We also discuss direct effects of partner pregnancy influences (e.g., 'couvade syndrome') on men's body weight. In presenting each mechanism, we discuss how it may be affected by the transition to parenthood, and then review its role in body composition and weight. Next, we describe bidirectional and interactive effects, discuss timing, and present three broad research questions to propel theoretical development.
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In fathers, hormonal imbalances may be related to postpartum depression, but lack of sufficient sleep may also play a role.
“As in mothers, in fathers, hormonal imbalances may be related to postpartum depression (Saxbe et al., 2018), but lack of sufficient sleep may also play a role: 35% of parents with children under age 2 report that they get only 5–6 hr of sleep per night (Krueger & Friedman, 2009).”
From Birth of a Father: Fathering in the First 1,000 Days (2019) · cites this paper as Saxbe et al., 2018
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Perrigo, G. H., Belvin, L., & Saal, F. S. V. (1991) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/0031-9384(91)90068-y · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Maternal Stress Predicts Postpartum Weight Retention
Whitaker, K. M., Young-Hyman, D. L., Vernon, M., & Wilcox, S. (2014) · Maternal and Child Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10995-014-1470-7 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Gender differences in associations between stressful life events and body mass index
Barry, D., & Petry, N. M. (2008) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2008.08.006 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Nasuti, G., Blanchard, C. M., Naylor, P., Levy-Milne, R., Warburton, D. E. R., Benoit, C., Downs, D. S., & Rhodes, R. E. (2013) · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · doi:10.1016/j.jand.2013.07.042 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Paternal Physical Activity: An Important Target to Improve the Health of Fathers and their Children
Young, M. D., & Morgan, P. J. (2017) · American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine · doi:10.1177/1559827616689544 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Self-directed interventions to promote weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Tang, J. C. H., Abraham, C., Greaves, C. J., & Nikolaou, V. (2016) · Health Psychology Review · doi:10.1080/17437199.2016.1172979 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
A qualitative exploration of the Couvade syndrome in expectant fathers
Brennan, A., Marshall‐Lucette, S., Ayers, S., & Ahmed, H. (2007) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646830601117142 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Cortisol metabolism, postnatal depression and weight changes in the first 12 months postpartum
Rogers, S. L., Hughes, B. A., Tomlinson, J., & Blissett, J. M. (2016) · Clinical Endocrinology · doi:10.1111/cen.13150 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Prather, A. A., Janicki‐Deverts, D., Adler, N. E., Hall, M. H., & Cohen, S. (2016) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-016-9835-3 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Mechanisms of Action of Testosterone — Unraveling a Gordian Knot
Handelsman, D. J. (2013) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejme1305307 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Adiposity, CVD risk factors and testosterone
Gettler, L. T., Sarma, M. S., Gengo, R. G., Oka, R., & McKenna, J. J. (2017) · Evolution Medicine and Public Health · doi:10.1093/emph/eox005 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
The influence of psychological distress during pregnancy on early postpartum weight retention
Phillips, J., King, R. M., & Skouteris, H. (2013) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646838.2013.845873 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
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Straub, H. L., Simon, C. D., Plunkett, B. A., Endres, L. K., Adam, E. K., McKinney, C. O., Hobel, C. J., Thorp, J. M., Raju, T. N. K., & Shalowitz, M. U. (2016) · Maternal and Child Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10995-016-1934-z · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
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Birth of a Father: Fathering in the First 1,000 Days
Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Lotz, A., Alyousefi-van Dijk, K., & van IJzendoorn, M. (2019) · Child Development Perspectives · doi:10.1111/cdep.12347 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
“As in mothers, in fathers, hormonal imbalances may be related to postpartum depression (Saxbe et al., 2018), but lack of sufficient sleep may also play a role: 35% of parents with children under age 2 report that they get only 5–6 hr of sleep per night (Krueger & Friedman, 2009).”
BackgroundThe ‘Paternal body’: Reviewing the corporeal impact of new fatherhood on employed men
Gatrell, C. (2025) · International Journal of Management Reviews · doi:10.1111/ijmr.12377 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
- Authors
- Saxbe, D., Corner, G. W., Khaled, M., Horton, K., Wu, B., & Khoddam, H. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Southern California (US)
- Corresponding author
- Saxbe, Darby
- Venue
- Health Psychology Review
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-06-11
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 294-311
- ISSN
- 1743-7199 (ISSN-L)
- 1743-7202
- OpenAlex
- W2802245149
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 111
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 7.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1552452)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Keywords
- transition to parenthood, fatherhood, body composition, sleep, physical activity, diet, testosterone, cortisol, depression, stress, couvade syndrome
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Fathers, Female, Humans, Male, Pregnancy, Weight Gain, Men's Health, Reproductive Physiological Phenomena
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
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