Thanks, Dad, for all you do, including being a guinea pig

On Sunday we honor the fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, fathers-to-be, husbands, uncles, stepfathers, foster fathers and father figures who have meant something in our lives. They’re not just significant to us, they also matter to health and medical research scientists who study them and their behavior so that we may learn and grow.

So in honor of Father’s Day, here’s a rundown of how dads have helped to better mankind:

We know that they may be just as stressed out as women when a baby is due. A study published online in March in the Journal of Advanced Nursing found that among 66 couples, men were freaked out about family and pregnancy issues and generally felt overloaded. Women were anxious about the same topics, but men processed them as financial stressors, while women dealt with them as emotional stressors.

That makes sense, considering men are generally perceived as the breadwinners. The study also found that women felt they received more tangible support from their partners, while men perceived getting more emotional support.

Fathers may have more influence over what their kids eat than they think. Sure, moms may still do the bulk of the cooking at home, but when Dad is out and about with the kids, it could be a different story. A study in the May issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior surveyed parents and children from 312 families about family meals, how much time was spent in the car and parents’ work schedules. Researchers discovered that eating out more often at fast food and full-service restaurants was influenced by both parents’ work schedules, time spent in the family car and fathers using and spending time in those establishments.

What’s wrong with that, you ask? Need we remind you that meals served in restaurants, especially fast-food places, tend to be higher in calories, fat and salt than what’s served at home? No, we didn’t think so.

Dads, you may need to step it up when it comes to having the talk. Researchers looked at data from an online survey taken by 829 fathers and 1,113 mothers of kids ages 10 to 14, and study participants were asked about how they communicated about sex-related topics and different facets of that communication.

Fathers, researchers discovered, talked less about sexual issues with both sons and daughters than mothers did. Dads also had fewer traits that made talking about sex easier. In the 2010 study published in the journal Reproductive Health, the authors wrote, “Fathers need particular support to overcome the barriers to communication they encounter.” Which may be a nice way of saying, get over it, Pops.

So there you have it. Give your dad a hug and some support this Father’s Day, and by all means keep him away from the fast food.