What is GUTS Fathers & Families?

GUTS is conducting one of the first studies focused on the role fathers play in supporting healthy lifestyle behaviors (diet, physical activity, sleep) in children: the Fathers & Families sub-study. This study will also examine how fathers and their co-parents work together to support their children’s health.

Who can join?

The Fathers & Families Substudy is recruiting a diverse group of fathers from the GUTS cohort to participate in research on fathers, families, and health.

To be eligible for the Fathers & Families Substudy, you need to:

• Be a male GUTS participant
• Have a biological, step-, or adopted child between 1-6 years old who you live with at least 50% of the time

All male GUTS participants will receive information about Fathers & Families and will be invited to complete a brief screening form to determine their eligibility. Update your contact information to ensure you hear from us.

Why join?

“Fathers have been largely ignored by research. Times have changed. We need to hear from fathers so we can develop strategies that help families successfully promote their children’s health.”

– Kirsten Davison, PhD, Co-Principal investigator

Fathers matter. Fathers play an important role in their children’s health and development, but they’ve historically been excluded from research on children’s health. This is one of the first studies that acknowledges fathers’ important role and addresses the lack of research on fathers.

Science needs you. By participating in this research, you’ll contribute to what we know about the role of fathers on children’s health. This information will benefit your family, other families, and future generations. Your participation will also help to recognize and acknowledge the importance of fathers and fatherhood.

Commitment to diversity. The study includes the many forms of fatherhood, including step-, single, and same-sex fathers, and is designed to ensure a strong representation of fathers from racial and ethnic minorities.