New Study Says ‘Fast Food Dads’ Stereotype a Myth

“Single dads apparently don’t get enough respect when it comes to providing for their kids’ nutrition according to a study led by an Iowa State University sociologist that dispels the myth of ‘fast food dads.’ It’s the first to show that kids who spend time with their non-resident fathers actually eat slightly healthier than those who don’t.”

A new study shows that non-resident fathers are doing a good job of feeding their kids healthy food. The full story is below.

In a related note, last month there was a highly-publicized study which alleged that custodial fathers did a poorer job of addressing their children’s healthcare needs than mothers. I have reasons to doubt that study, and I outlined them in my blog post Seven Reasons Why the New Study on Single Dads’ Alleged Neglect of Their Kids’ Health May Be Misleading
 

‘Fast Food Dads’ stereotype a myth according to new research

 When many people think of single, non-resident fathers providing meals for their kids, they conjure up the image of dad piling the kids into the car for a quick trip through the McDonald’s drive through.

But single dads apparently don’t get enough respect when it comes to providing for their kids’ nutrition according to a study led by an Iowa State University sociologist that dispels the myth of “fast food dads.” It’s the first to show that kids who spend time with their non-resident fathers actually eat slightly healthier than those who don’t.

Associate Professor of Sociology Susan Stewart and Ball State University Assistant Professor of Sociology Chadwick Menning used existing data collected between 1994-96 from more than 10,000 families from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine the relationship between family structure, non-resident fathers, and adolescent eating pattern. The results of that study are in a paper titled “Fast Food Dads? The Effect of Family Structure and Nonresident Father Involvement on Adolescent Eating Patterns,” which they’ll be presenting on Sunday, Aug. 12, at the American Sociological Association annual meeting in the New York City Hilton.

“Regarding the non-custodial father being the ‘fast food dad,’ we did not find evidence to support that stereotype,” said Stewart, who is author of the book Brave New Stepfamilies: Diverse Paths Toward Stepfamily Living (Sage Publications). “We found that non-resident father involvement — so kids with an involved, non-custodial dad — actually eat better and more nutritious food than kids whose dad is not involved. They are less likely to skip breakfast and lunch, and eat vegetables more often. They also eat more simple sugars, but they’re more likely to eat regular meals.”

The data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health initially surveyed adolescents in grades 7-12 in 1994-95 and conducted follow-up interviews with a subset of respondents in 1996. The second wave of data from that study provided numerous measures of adolescents’ diets, including the frequency of eating fast food within the last week. The researchers examined effects of family structure and controls on adolescent diet, skipping meals, and food monitoring from more than 15,000 families in the first wave of data, and more than 11,000 in the second wave. (more…)

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