The Dangers of Having a Dad Bod

A few years ago, researchers from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention were examining research on body fat and concluded that being slightly overweight, but not obese, might actually result in a longer life.

I know, sounds ridiculous doesn't it? But for the quarter of the population who are overweight this was reassuring news. It even paved the way for the "Dad Bod" generation. (The dad bod, in case you don't know, is the stereotypical dad body. He's not massively overweight, but enjoys a few too many pints and the odd take away).

Many in the medical community were skeptical about this evidence ... and rightly so as it turns out. The findings relied too heavily on Body Mass Index as the sole indicator of health and not muscle mass or body fat.

Now, four years later, the latest research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine reaffirms that skepticism and finds that being slightly overweight may actually decrease a person's life span, which is more in line with conventional wisdom about the dangers of gaining weight.

So it may be time to reassess your daily eating and gym habits if you are falling into the mindset that having a "dad bod" is the way to go.

"Our findings confirm that there is no benefit to being overweight on risk of death, and indicate that being overweight is actually associated with an increased risk of dying," head demographer Andrew Stokes told NPR. His research actually found a six percent increased risk of death for overweight individuals.

Future research will look at whether overweight people who diet, exercise and lose the excess weight can turn back their risk of disease, to that of an individual who never gained weight in the first place. Let's hope that's true and maybe there is still some time to turn things around right?

Anyway, since last week's post you've doubtless been working on your summer abs, so with your beach body well underway, check out the new summer styles that have just landed!