Is fatherhood bad for your health?

The New York Post headline writer sure wants you to think so, but even the rather squishy study that the story references doesn't actually conclude that having children is bad for you.

It does tell us something shocking: whether and when you have children may impact your lifestyle, and the extent to which this is true depends on your race and socioeconomic status. 

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Well, duh. 

The lede, as with so many things you read in the news, is that having kids is bad for your heart. 

Kids may pull on your heartstrings in more ways than one.

Fathers have worse cardiovascular health than men without kids, according to a new study.

Researchers from Northwestern University and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago analyzed data from 2,814 men between ages 45 and 85 and found that health outcomes varied considerably by ethnicity and how old the man was when his first kid was born. 

For example, men who became fathers under age 25 seemed to have worse heart health than other fathers. This was especially true among men who were Hispanic or black.

Of course, not to put too fine a point on it, but in today's anti-natal America, the people most likely to have kids young are also most likely to be from lower socio-economic strata. Unfortunately, wealthier and more educated people tend to have healthier lifestyles, be more economically secure, and have kids later in life. It would be better for everybody if they had kids younger, but there it is. 

In other words, the difference between people who have kids younger and those who have them at an older age is nonrandom. 

Men who had their first children when they were younger than 25 had the worst health outcomes as well as higher death rates, the study found. 

“If you’re under 25, you may be less financially stable, your brain may be less mature and, especially for racial and ethnic minorities, you may have lower-paying jobs with fewer benefits and limited leave policies,” Parker said in the press release. 

Aha! The men who had the worst outcomes were Black men who had kids young. Who could have guessed that? Is the problem then fatherhood or some other variable that may correlate with fatherhood? You be the judge. 

By the way, Black men who had kids later in life lived longer than Black non-fathers, again suggesting that a variable other than fatherhood per se is at work. People who control themselves, are goal-oriented, and don't have a bunch of baby mamas are likely to make better decisions and live longer. 

Who could have guessed?

While the fathers in the study had worse cardiovascular health overall, they were the least likely to die from any cause in the group.

Researchers said that this may be because fathers have more social support than nonfathers. 

"Fathers may also be more likely to have someone as their future caretaker (i.e., their children) to help them attend medical appointments and manage medications and treatments as they get older,” Parker said. 

“We also found that fathers had lower rates of depressive symptoms than nonfathers, so mental health may be contributing to the lower … death rates in fathers.”

Sooooo...with the exception of young Black men who become fathers at an early age, who tend to die younger, other fathers tend to live LONGER and be happier. 

Again, hmmm. They may or may not be more sedentary and eat a bit worse, but they live longer and happier lives. Not exactly what the headline suggested, is it? And, let's be clear, I don't buy the "caretaker" argument one bit. It is about love and family, not somebody managing the pills. Having kids is good for your heart, at least the metaphorical one.