Weighing In on "The Dad Bod"

 

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According to 2024 data, the percentage of men who are nurses in the United States is roughly 13% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). Consider also how many men are primary breadwinners, married, and have children. What aspects of being a man in the healthcare profession and being a dad or a new father affect a man's overall health?

Environmental, financial, and social factors impact one's ability to maintain good health, also known in academic literature as social determinants of health or SDOH. The demographic region where a person is born and grew up, the current living environment or place where shelter is sought, the type of work performed to procur income or the lack there of, a persons age, a persons educational status, their ability to learn a skill or trade, as well as basic human amenities such as water, electricity, money and other materials to care for their health needs all influence there basic health (Datto, 2020, "Social determinants" section, paras. 1-2). These and other health inequalities are prevalent in underdeveloped nations, and the basic amenities that most first-world nations take for granted.

In addition, according to Garfield et al. (2006), one of the social factors that can affect a person's health, specifically men's health, is when men become fathers or fatherhood as an element of a social determinant of health. In other words, becoming a father can have inhospitable effects or amicable rewards on a man's overall health.

Health promotion can be considered as finding balance if health is on a continuum. According to Hood (2014), a person in good physical condition will embody the potential and wherewithal to make every effort and work toward their best self, possess the resourcefulness to condition oneself in any environment, and attain an ideal where the individual is in ownership of a sense of being put together. However, an image of wellness is not represented as the absence of pathology.

Suppose those of us in positions of influence remember that those we steward continuously look to us for marks of role modeling, as Thieman (2018) reinforces. In that case, we do ourselves a good thing and ensure that those under our direction perform self-care practices. Consider also the changing face of healthcare, where men are entering the healthcare space compared to previous decades.

According to Thieman (2018), a mouthpiece for healthcare workers, she reminds all those who care for others to care for themselves. She postulates that elements of self-care, such as getting plenty of water intake, good sleep hygiene, incorporating walking as exercise, deep breathing, using laughter with optimistic thinking, and practicing forgiveness as part of a spiritual scaffolding, all contribute to a healthcare provider's well-being. If performed well, personal self-care can translate to patient care outcomes such as patient safety, care experience, and quality of care patients receive (Thieman, 2018).

Self-Care is Not New

The wisdom of self-care is not a new concept. Consider the writings of intellectuals from our past. For the curious reader, insights from those whose mentors taught them are relevant today. In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius records what he learned from his parents and family and the many teachers and philosophers he was exposed to from a young age until adulthood. One of his mentors, Maximus, expounded on self-care and caring for one's body.

 He took a reasonable care of his body's health, not as one who was greatly attached to life, nor out of regard to personal appearance, nor yet in a careless way, but so that, through his own attention, he very seldom stood in need of the physician's art or of medicine or external application. (Adler, 1952, p. 255)

Although essential to self-care and as an element of 21st-century population health, advances in medicine are critical to managing heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. Medicine aims to thwart disease and diagnose it promptly when symptoms present themselves (Editors, 2018). None would disagree that healthcare is a partnership with a care provider when health promotion efforts are practical. Equally important, no one would argue the importance of first aid and emergency medicine, and the importance of seeing a doctor when an infection is present to get an antibiotic prescription.

The Dad Bod

The subsequent dialogue will revolve around revisiting the topic of men's health and concluding final thoughts about the peculiar "dad bod" popular on most social media platforms. As mentioned, Garfield et al. (2006) highlight that being a dad can positively and negatively affect men's health. For example, Garfield et al. (2006) explore the positive associations on mens health in fathers such as children being a joy to have, increased physical activity from the presence of offspring, and the favorable associations on a father who is raising children from a found sense of being a provider and fulfilling a sense of purpose. 

Conversely, however, the challenging aspects of being a father can include, but are not limited to, experiencing the demands of providing for a family at least financially and the demands of striving to create a sense of equilibrium between family life and work (Garfield et al., 2006). Unfortunately, one element of the demands of being a dad is the concept of life stressors and the link to cardiovascular disease processes as men age, impacting how the body handles biological stressors or changes in allostasis.

Men's health is essential because of the risk factors associated with the sex disparity in disease frequency and mortality (Bhasin & Basaria, 2018), such as cardiovascular disease, varying types of cancer, mental disorders and degenerative brain disorders, as well as the propensity to misuse substances such as alcohol, risks for developing diabetes and stroke and as men age the suicide prevalence also increases.

The Dad Bod Response

One social determinant of health on men's health, additionally, is addressed at what is known as muscle dysmorphia, otherwise known as the propensity of males to have and possess the hyperactive drive to build muscle with an overt preoccupation with being muscular, appearing lean, and looking fit (Bhasin & Basaria, 2018). Social media has, arguably, disorganized the ideal of what the average male physique should look like, as the overall representation of the American male is not the typical bodybuilder or CrossFit athlete.

Men who struggle with body dysmorphia thoughts about their body feel that their appearance and their potential inability to perform at least athletically, also struggle with the anxiety and resultant depressive mood swings associated with some unrealistic expectation of the male form (Bhasin & Basaria, 2018). It is important to note that researchers are investigating the connections to men's cardiovascular health and connecting the dots to mid-pregnancy and the first year of fatherhood (Landry et al., 2024).

As men transition from being single bachelors to engaging in romantic long-term relationships and deciding to begin a family, scientists are paying attention to the health effects of fatherhood and the dad bod phenomenon. Additionally, Landry et al. (2024) remind readers of the initiatives set forth by the American Heart Association.

The American Heart Association has lifestyle recommendations for all people. However, importantly, as a recommendation for men entering the paternal chapters of life, eight healthy benchmarks such as exercising, making better food choices, eliminating smoking, practicing good sleep patterns, keeping a healthy weight, monitoring and getting cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure monitored (AHA, 2025) can help modify risks factors associated with cardiovascular disease. It is important to recognize the weight management aspect of men's health, which discusses the importance of eating portion-sized meals, incorporating or supplementing fiber into one's meal regimen, choosing protein sources, reading product food labels and understanding calories as well as and keeping track of body metrics such as body mass index which are measurements associated with weight and height all to help improve risk factors associated with cardiovascular health.

AHA recommends as little as 20 minutes per day of moderate aerobic activity or 10 minutes a day of vigorous activity a week, such as going for walks, jogging, or swimming laps (AHA, 2025). Additionally, the AHA recommends strengthening the muscles; to do this, include types of lifting weights, with varying lengths of training, intensities, and durations. It is important to note that the science of cardiovascular disease management rarely emphasizes elements of muscular hypertrophy or appearances of leanness, a subject of much dispute in the fitness industry. Can the average person, with a dad bod, meet metrics set forth by, for example, the American Heart Association?

The answer is yes.

References:

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952). The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. In The Great Books of the Western World. (Vol. 12, pp. 253–310). Encyclopedia Britannica.

American Heart Association. (2025). My Life Check: Life's Simple 8. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/my-life-check--lifes-simple-7.

Bhasin, S. & Basaria, S. (2018). Men's Health. In J. Larry Jameson & Anthony S. Fauci & Dennis L. Kasper & Stephen L. Hauser & Dan L. Longo & Joseph Loscalzo (20th Eds., Vol. 2), Harrison's principles of internal medicine (pp. 2828-2835). McGraw-Hill Education.

Datto, A. (2020). Social determinants of health. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health. 

Editors. (2018). The Practice of Medicine. In J. Larry Jameson & Anthony S. Fauci & Dennis L. Kasper & Stephen L. Hauser & Dan L. Longo & Joseph Loscalzo (20th Eds., Vol. 1), Harrison's principles of internal medicine (pp. 1-8). McGraw-Hill Education.

Garfield, C. F., Clark-Kauffman, E., & Davis, M. M. (2006). Fatherhood as a component of Men's Health. JAMA, 296(19), 2365. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.296.19.2365

Hood, L. J. (2014). Leddy & Pepper's conceptual bases of professional nursing (8th ed.). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. 

Landry, M. J., Pineda, J. P., Lee, J. M., Hoyt, M. A., Edwards, K. L., Lindsay, K. L., Gardner, C. D., & Wong, N. D. (2024). Longitudinal changes in lifestyle behaviours and cardiovascular health during the transition to fatherhood: The dad bod observational cohort study protocol. BMJ Open, 14(11). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-095200

Thieman, L. (2018). Selfcare for Healthcare: The best way to care for patients is to care for ourselves. Nurse Leader, 16(6), 393–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2018.07.014

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm

Courage a semblance of authenticity?

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To discuss the essence of authenticity, insights from early first-century nobles such as Marcus Aurelius, memorialized and unforgotten for the recordings of his Meditations, in which Adler (1952) credits his sayings in connection with what it means to be courageous, will be unveiled. During these early points in history, as a civil leader, the Stoic suggests that being the head of state often entails carrying a burden to bring about influence. As a leader of the Roman nation, he indicates that leadership is frequently full of challenges and obligations. Those challenges or opportunities for improvement are often strenuous and daunting, but the early Stoics reiterate that they are not insurmountable. What can the early first-century ascetics teach us today about courage in our leadership roles?

In a recent article in the April issue of Nurse Leader, Carrega and Rouse (2025) reveal authenticity in a leadership role in which they discuss plainly methods and strategies for improving workplace culture. Ways to strengthen workplace culture are to allow for and foster a speak-up environment, departmental partnering to make decisions involving all staff, recognizing wins and celebrating good work, effective daily staffing ratios, and leadership that approaches their organization from a position of authentic influence. One of the methods to improve workplace culture is to have leaders behave authentically or, better, just be themselves.

When authentic influence and behaviors are acted out, they manifest through certain habits and etiquette. One does not need to be in a formal position to behave authentically, but must possess social and peer influence. However, a precursor to authenticity and behavior types is self-awareness or being up to speed on emotional intelligence.

A broad definition from professors and scholars in the leadership literature underlines emotional intelligence as the capacity to be in tune with one's feelings or the current psychological state of other individuals to escort and aid their thought processes and affairs (Bass, 2008a). Nurse writers, such as Buechner Baugh and Gosselin (2025), also cast light upon emotional intelligence as part of being an authentic person of leadership that involves the continuous habit of listening to others with the intent to learn and help, practicing the idea of seeing oneself in the other person's shoes, and being in the moment, or being capable of feeling what is going on in certain situations which all are part of training for emotional intelligence.

Furthermore, being emotionally intelligent involves positive thought and speech, being able to relate to others through empathetic observance, and seeking to resolve disruptive situations when they occur (Bass, 2008a). Courage to be authentic takes practice, but when performed well, the leader who exemplifies courageous behavior to make changes will take accountability and responsibility for their environment of operations despite being open and vulnerable, take calculated risks despite unknown environmental and organizational hazards, and be willing to accept undesirable consequences to their personal situation and circumstance (Bass, 2008b).

References:

Adler, Mortimer J. (1952). Courage. In The Great Ideas: A Syntopicon of Great Books of the Western World (Vol. 1, pp. 252–267). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Bass, B. M. (2008a). Traits of Leadership (1970-2006). In The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, & Managerial Applications (4th ed., pp. 103–135). essay, Simon & Schuster.

Bass, B. M. (2008b). Ethics and Leadership. In The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, & Managerial Applications (4th ed., pp. 199–238). essay, Simon & Schuster.

Buechner Baugh, A., & Gosselin, T. (2025). Build your emotional intelligence. American Nurse Journal, 20(04), 40–43. https://doi.org/10.51256/anj042540

Carrega, J., & Rouse, M. (2025). Impact of a self-care intervention program on Clinician Health and well-being. Nurse Leader, 23(2), 209–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2024.08.005

Authenticity: Frame of Mind?

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How do we untangle inauthenticity? Does the fruit of being authentic produce authenticity in others? The question will be addressed later, but first, let us extract a thought from the early third century. According to scholars, Augustine of Hippo, a son born to an agnostic father and a pious Christian mother, is known for the saying, "So material a difference does it make, not what ills are suffered, but what kind of man suffers them" (Dods, 1971, p. 133). What can be extracted from the saying that is applicable today in the context of leadership for refining those in positions of organizational influence?

When leaders encounter difficult situations, those situations offer an opportunity to uncover what character underlies their default way of performing, but it rarely improves it. In other words, adversity reveals weaknesses to strengthen one's character. Leaders can, however, remain authentic as they encounter challenges and learn to adapt, grow, and benefit from adverse experiences, thereby sharpening their ability to influence others. Staying authentic is difficult, but with routine application, untangling inauthenticity can be achievable. How is it done?

When leaders operate from a position of authentic behavior, scholars note that these behaviors manifest as truth-tellers, avoiding deceitfulness to themselves and others (Bass, 2008, p. 223). Next, authentic leaders are unashamedly open to admitting errors when needed, taking responsibility for faults and mistakes. Finally, although imperfectly, they are astute and aware of situational dissatisfiers that can affect their mood and practice self-regulation. Ultimately, staying true to personal values is the core concept of authentic leadership (Leroy et al., 2012).

It is helpful to reflect on and appreciate the wisdom recorded through the centuries by those who were enlightened before us. Remembering that adversity often reveals what we are made of, and rarely sharpens one's character, while most often opening our eyes to areas that need improvement. Those in positions of influence can take heart and not fret, knowing that a key component of effectual influence involves authenticity. When authenticity is vibrant, others will demonstrate the exact likeness as they perceive examples of authentic behavior. Individuals in roles of leadership can daily practice habits of being honest with themselves and others, practice habits of admitting mistakes when they occur and learn from them collectively, practice self-control during situations that threaten one's bearings and tendency to express irritation, and finally, stay true to core beliefs, values, and convictions held at the root of one's person.

References:

Bass, B. M. (2008). Ethics & Leadership. In The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, & Managerial Applications (4th ed., pp. 199-238). Essay, Simon & Schuster.

Dods, M. (1971). The City of God. In Great Books of the Western World (Vol. 18, pp. 129–620). Encyclopedia Britannica.

Leroy, H., Anseel, F., Gardner, W. L., & Sels, L. (2012). Authentic leadership, authentic followership, basic need satisfaction, and work role performance. Journal of Management, 41(6), 1677–1697. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206312457822