The hope of every married couple is to have a baby of their own. Some couples achieve this dream within a short period of time but most couples struggle with their fertility for a longer period of time. It has been observed through various researches that couples in many countries are experiencing fertility troubles. It has been a growing problem around the world. We are going to discuss how obesity can affect fertility.
Usually, people associate fertility issues with low sperm count or polycystic ovary syndrome. However, recent studies have shown that Obesity can be another reason for the difficulty in conceiving. Obesity has many negative health issues and one of the recent findings is infertility. But now with the new knowledge about these couples can work out another way to achieve their dream.
Can Obesity affect female fertility?
While common knowledge is that the female is more responsible for the fertility issue. However, it is the responsibility of both males and females. While obesity can actually lower the chances for a woman to become pregnant, it can equally reduce the chances for a male.
Reasons for infertility in women
There are lots of reasons that can cause infertility in women. Some of them are,
- Endometriosis, uterine or cervical dysfunctions
- Ovulatory problems
- Hormone imbalance
- Malnutrition
- Lack of or high physical activity
If we focus on hormone imbalance, obesity can be the main reason for that. There is a group of female sex hormones that control the fertility process. Obesity can interfere with the metabolic reactions in the body. This can consequently alter the secretion or release of female sex hormones, leading to infertility. Furthermore, there is a strong interconnection between energy metabolism and fertility. Obesity can also interrupt your energy metabolism.
How does obesity affect follicle development
- It can lower the quality of the cell in the ovary that will develop into an egg.
- Obesity can lower the number of developed eggs.
There are a lot of free fatty acids in an obese woman’s body. They can cause inflammations in the reproductive tissues. This will cause major problems to the reproductive system of the female in the long run. The most dangerous point is that obesity can produce poor quality embryos. This will either lead to malnourished or weak babies or miscarriages.
Studies have shown that there is approximately 40% of the obese pregnant woman face a high risk of miscarriage. However, the risk in normal female is only 15%. This can be due to changed metabolic rate or energy inside the body that can lead to various complications.
Can obesity harm the fetus?
As scary as it is, the answer is yes. Obesity can lead to,
- Gestational diabetes during pregnancy – This can increase the risk for the health of both the mother and baby
- Obesity can lead to stillbirths
- Birth defects
All in all, women seemed to be at far more risk than men in the face of obesity, considering fertility. However, men are also at equal risk.
How Obesity affects male fertility?
Lower sperm count is the main cause of infertility in men. The male sex hormone, Testosterone control sperm production. Obesity can cause a metabolic imbalance. This will reduce the production of testosterone. It can be one of the major negative consequences of obesity in males. Low production of Testosterone will produce less sperms. Fewer sperms will lead to infertility.
Can obesity affect fertility treatment?
Most couples tend to get help from the conception programs after trying for about a year. It is a good idea to rule out the other possible factors that can hinder your chance of getting pregnant, like your weight. It is advisable that you lose a couple of pounds and participate in infertility treatments. This can save your time and money as well because even in these programs obesity can cause negative outcomes to the expecting parents. Furthermore, most clinics refuse to start their treatments unless the parents reduce their weight. Obese patients undergoing IVF or in vitro fertilization experienced poor quality of follicles or eggs and lower pre-implantation rates.
It is observed that obese females take a longer time to get pregnant. The BMI value and the time it takes to get pregnant have a linear relationship. The more the BMI value increases it takes longer to get pregnant.
How to decide whether you are obese or not?
If you wish to have a baby and you are still doubtful whether or not you are obese, the first thing you have to do is to identify whether you are overweight or obese. Then we can work on how to get you back into shape. The main way that you can decide about obesity is the BMI level.
If you divide your weight by the square of your height you will get your BMI value. Weight should be in Kilograms and height should be in meters. There are a lot of online calculators that will do the job for you if you enter the correct values.
According to WHO, if your BMI is between 18.5 – 15 kg/m2 you are in good shape. It is higher than 25, then you are overweight. If the BMI value is above 30, then you are definitely obese.
What should you do?
- Being Obese or overweight is not the end of the world. In a case like this couples should help each other out. Our bodies are amazing specimens that will bounce back to their healthier states if you follow the correct procedure. It can endure more than you think and with good guidance and determination, you can bounce back to a healthy weight.
By losing weight you will be excluding other external factors that are hindering your chance of getting pregnant. By losing just 10% or 15% of your weight might give you the chance of getting pregnant even without the fertility treatment.
Work out together
If both partners are obese or overweight, you can choose to work out together. Anyway, you are working towards a common goal and working out together can increase the healthiness of your relationship also.
Try out a healthy diet
You can opt to make a healthier lifestyle not only by exercise but also by changing your diet. Rather than losing your weight drastically with unhealthy diet plans, it is advisable to go to a dietician for consultation as you are planning to become pregnant in the near future. Any damage to your body can cause serious after-effects for your pregnancy so you need to be careful. You should consult your doctor in order to find out whether there are any other factors causing your weight issue other than your lifestyle.
Pregnancy or not it will always raise your spirits to see you in good shape. This will keep the couple’s affection and interest in each other alive. While you are not body shaming you have to understand the healthier you become it has more benefits than you think it has. So if you are hoping to bring new life to this world you need to add your weight into the consideration list.
