Babies who look like their father at birth are healthier one year later

“Fathers are important in raising a child, and it manifests itself in the health of the child,” said Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at Binghamton University Solomon Polachek. “We find a child’s health indicators improve when the child looks like the father. The main explanation is that frequent father visits allow for greater parental time for care-giving and supervision, and for information gathering about child health and economic needs. It’s been said that ‘it takes a village’ but my coauthor, Marlon Tracey, and I find that having an involved father certainly helps,” added Dr Polachek. The research have been published in the Journal of Health Economics.