Bad-ass dad by the numbers. We’re walking down a rabbit hole of curious facts and stats about families, health issues, fitness and more.
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Dad health
What is life expectancy of North American male?
A: 77 years. 81 years for females. 76 for American men. 80 for Canadian men.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/274513/life-expectancy-in-north-america/
What percent of men over 18 meet the federal physical activity guideline?
A: 57.6%–that means 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/mens-health.htm
What percent of men experience depression?
A: 1 in 10 (10%) . However, Men die by suicide 3.5x more often than women: Men experience a higher rate suicide than women. Depression, when left untreated, can in some cases reach a crisis point of suicidal contemplation. With so few men reaching out for help or support, and instead suffering in silence, this may be one reason why men face a higher suicide rate.
Forty-nine percent of men feel more depressed than they admit to the people in their life: A Today Show commissioned survey of more than 1,000 men revealed the truth that many assume. Men are much less likely to voice struggles with mental illness, and even thoughts of suicide.
https://www.mindwise.org/blog/uncategorized/a-critical-look-at-mens-mental-health/
What percent of men feel pressure to be physically attractive?
A: just 27%–while 71% of women report feeling that pressure!
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/fathers-day-facts/
What is the leading threat to men’s health?
A: Cardiovascular disease! In cardiovascular disease, cholesterol plaques gradually block the arteries in the heart and brain. If a plaque becomes unstable, a blood clot forms, blocking the artery and causing a heart attack or stroke.
The leading cancer for men is skin cancer… followed by prostate cancer. Did you know what the prostate is? I didn’t. It’s walnut-sized gland behind the penis that secretes fluids important for ejaculation, the prostate is prone to problems as men age. In fact, 200K men will develop prostate cancer this year in the US.
While we’re on the big men’s health issues, let’s talk ED. Do you know how many men in their 40’s deal with ED? What percentage?
A: 39%. NOT a small number. So if that describes you, you may feel alone, but you most certainly are not. Erectile dysfunction is most often caused by atherosclerosis — the same process that causes heart attacks and strokes. In fact, having ED frequently means that blood vessels throughout the body are in less-than-perfect health. Doctors consider erectile dysfunction an early warning sign for cardiovascular disease.
https://www.webmd.com/men/features/6-top-health-threats-men#4
Seems we’ve fallen into the sex. So let’s go with that.
Hey, do you know the average size penis size?
A: According the the Kinsey Institute: The average erect penis of males in the US is 5–7 inches and the average circumference is 4-6 inches.
How often are we using those penises for sex?
A: According to the 2018 General Social Survey’s data on about 660 married people who shared details about how often they had sex in the past year:
25% had sex once a week
16% had sex two to three times per week
5% had sex four or more times per week
17% had sex once a month
19% had sex two to three times per month
10% hadn’t had sex in the past year
7% had sex about once or twice in the past year
Not surprisingly, frequency of sex declines as couples age. However, for some partners, the enjoyment increases. I found this factoid telling:
Among ages 18-59, older age for men is associated with lower likelihood of his own orgasm; for women it is associated with a higher likelihood of her own orgasm. (National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, 2010). https://kinseyinstitute.org/research/faq.php
How long do our sexual encounters normally last?
What do you think the expectation is?
A: This is one of the areas where media and pornography can really screw us up. Because they make really long sexual encounters seem normative. BUT, in truth, the average sex session lasts from three to ten minutes. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200706/five-shocking-stats-about-men-and-sex#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Kinsey%20Report,less%20than%20once%20a%20month.
What percent of American men are watching porn?
A: The Relationships in America data reveal that 43 percent of men and 9 percent of women report watching pornography in the past week.
https://relationshipsinamerica.com/relationships-and-sex/how-much-pornography-are-americans-consuming#:~:text=The%20Relationships%20in%20America%20data,a%20year%2C%20if%20at%20all.
I’m not going to get into a lot of dissection on porn in this episode. I feel like that’s going to be a full episode for 2021. The number of porn wathcers kicks up to over 50% when men hit their 30’s. So I feel like porn is something a lot of guys in this audience are interacting with. I want know if there is positivity to that.. And, conversely, how porn can mess us up, too. Certainly a big problem with porn is the devaluation of participants, especially women. Are there socially responsible versions of porn? Do men watch porn to escape that? I dunno… but I’m game to find out. So I think an episode is in the coming.
OK, let’s totally switch gears, just a bit, and go from sex to marriage.
What percent of American adults are married?
A: About 48%. Apparently this number took a big dive back in the 90’s, but has been staying about the same ever since. The big dive came because American adults are staying single longer–or, at least, waiting longer to get married.
https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-02-14/the-state-of-american-households-smaller-more-diverse-and-unmarried
Rando question: Any guess as to what state has the highest married population? This would be what percent of their population is married?
A: If you said Louisiana, you’d be dead wrong. Louisiana has the lowest percent of married population. 43.6% of Louisianians are married. It’s Utah that has the highest percent. 56.1% of people in Utah are married.
What do you think is the median age for American males getting married?
A: In 2019, that median age was 30. Up quite a bit from the median age of 22 in 1956.
https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-02-14/the-state-of-american-households-smaller-more-diverse-and-unmarried
How many marriages involve re-marriage?
A: About 40%. So 40% of all marriages involve a partner who was previously married to someone else.
In 1960, 44% of American households were married couples with children. Want to guess what that percent is today?
A: 19%. Nonfamily households has risen from 15 to 35% in that time. One person households has risen from 13 to 28%. I’m guessing by “nonfamily” households, this census number refers to non-married couples.
It might also include adult children living with a parent. Any idea what percentage of adult children are living with their parents?
A: I don’t have a total percent. We’ll have to refine that by age. How about kids from age 18-24? 57% live with a parent. By age 25-29, 26% live with a parent. At age 30-34, 15% live with a parent. https://www.prb.org/u-s-household-composition-shifts-as-the-population-grows-older-more-young-adults-live-with-parents/
I wonder where I would fit on that. I’m 44 and live with a parent. My retired mother-in-law lives with us. I wonder what percentage of 40-somethings live with parents.
How many fathers are there in the US?
There are 331 million people in the US. Of that total, 72.2 million of them are fathers. About 2 million are single fathers. I’m guessing that means that they are single fathers who are the primary care-givers for their children. I say that because there are 24.6 million fathers in married two-person households with kids… and the numbers just don’t add up.
https://parentspluskids.com/blog/fatherhood-statistics-trends-and-analysis#:~:text=There%20are%2024.6%20million%20fathers,fathers%20in%20the%20United%20States.&text=The%20breakdown%20of%20single%20fathers,single%20fathers%20is%20about%20%2450%2C000.
True or false: All mammals, including humans, more closely resemble their father than their mother.
TRUE, baby. That’s according to a University of North Carolina study. They found that genetically, children shared more DNA with fathers than mothers.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150302123253.htm
True or false: Dad’s fitness levels are the best indicator of fitness and bodyfat levels in adolescent children.
Also TRUE. That’s from an 2000 study. Kind of a challenge, or gauntlet, thrown down there, I’d say.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10702180/
Hey, would you say you show more or less affection to your children than was shown to you?
52% of us report that we show… MORE affection. I think I’m in that group. I wonder if my parents felt they were. And don’t get me wrong… my parents were not cold by any means. I just feel I’m a little more liberal with the use of affection than they were. And that’s probably a cultural shift from time.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ey-workfamily-survey_n_7206208
What percentage of American dads say they spend too little time with their children?
A: 63%!!! 36% say they spend “just the right amount of time.” On the flip side, just 35% of mothers reported spending too little time with kids. Work is the main reported culprit of taking time away from kids.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/fathers-day-facts/
What percentage of resident fathers report sharing a daily meal with their child in the past four weeks?
A: Nearly 49%. That number was nearly 72% in the 2002. Of non-resident fathers, 26% report sharing a meal.
https://www.fatherhood.gov/sites/default/files/resource_files/data_snapshot_changes_in_father_involvement.pdf
What percent of kids listen to podcasts with their parents?
I don’t really know. But one survey said that 80% of their podcast-listening audience shared and episode with their children.
https://current.org/2017/04/survey-by-kids-podcasts-group-sheds-light-on-listening-habits/
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