US News

Late-shift dads’ fat kids

Pop’s night shift could make junior’s waistline explode, a study says.

Australian researchers found that nonstandard work hours strongly increase the odds that a man will have overweight or obese offspring.

The study focused on 434 9-year-olds. The 22.8 percent who were overweight or obese tended to have fathers who worked overnight, after 6 p.m. or on weekends.

And this held true even after controlling for household income and various lifestyle factors.

A weaker association was found when both parents worked nonstandard schedules. And there was no connection between mothers’ work schedules and kids’ obesity.

The study appears in the current International Journal of Obesity.