Science confirms dad bods are real

The dad bod, the viral body type characterised by a not-so-flawless physique, just got more real thanks to science. It turns out, many men do put on a few pounds after their children are born, which likely contributes to this fit-but-flabby body type.

In the first study of this size, researchers at Northwestern Medicine kept track of the height and weight of about 10,000 men for 20 years, starting in 1994 when they were between 12 and 21 years old.

By 2008, a third of them had become dads. Those who became fathers for the first time gained anywhere from 3.5 to 4.5 pounds over that two-decade period, regardless of whether or not they lived with their kids.