Men Gain Weight During Partner's Pregnancy

By Margarita Nahapetyan

A new poll from the United Kingdom suggests that the average father-to-be gains a lot of weight during the pregnancy of his partner, approximately 6.35 kilograms, because they find it harder and harder to resist larger portions of food and treats around the house.

The poll, conducted for marketing company OnePoll and involving 5,000 male surveyors, found that most of them did not even feel that they had grown fatter until they tried on older clothes and found that they did not fit anymore. The average weight that was gained by men equated to putting on at least 2 inches around their waist, and, consequently, there was nothing else left for them to do but to join their partners shopping for new items, under the label "paternity." Favourite 'male pregnancy' snacks included pizza, chocolate, crisps, and more inappropriately, beer.

A fifth of all the men surveyed reported that they were given larger meals, and 41 per cent said that there were much more snacks in the house than before. The poll also found that 25 per cent of future fathers-to-be ate more food in order to make their wife or partner feel better about her weight gain. A spokesperson for OnePoll said that the average woman puts on approximately 15.8 kilograms in weight during the time of her pregnancy, and many of them crave for fatty foods and snacks more regularly. Women are recommended to consume an extra three hundred calories on a daily basis - through eating healthier food and snacks, he explained, to make sure that all the nutritional needs of the baby are met. Therefore, if the cupboards in the house start suddenly brimming with snacks and food, it is not a surprise that men would be tempted to tuck in as well, the spokesman said.

Another explanation for the weight gain during "male pregnancy" is that forty two per cent of couples reported spending more time visiting cafes, pubs, diners and restaurants for a meal in order to make the most of their precious time together before the arrival of their child. Restaurant food as well as takeout food can be, as it is not a secret to anyone, very dangerous for the figure, especially if they are being visited on a regular basis. However, what was very interesting to find, only one third of men (31 per cent), reported to join their partners on a post-pregnancy diet.

The Food Standards Agency recommends that future moms should try not to put on more than between ten and twelve kilograms during the course of their pregnancy. And Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommend that a total weight gain of almost eighteen kilograms, which also includes the weight of the fetus, is the maximum limit for a healthy pregnancy.