Association of Paternal BMI and Diet During Pregnancy with Offspring Birth Measures: The STEPS Study

This Finnish study explored whether paternal BMI and diet quality during pregnancy impact offspring birth weight and length using data from the STEPS cohort. Among 1586 father–child pairs, no significant associations were found between paternal BMI or diet and offspring birth measures after adjusting for maternal and perinatal factors. Despite widespread unhealthy diets and average paternal BMI in the overweight range (mean = 26), the findings suggest paternal health factors during pregnancy may not directly influence infant birth outcomes. However, the authors emphasize the need to explore pre-conception paternal influences in future research.

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