Is Obesity a “ticking time bomb” for Reproductive Health?

Yesterday, we ran a piece on infertility (http://hollywoodhealthletter.com/2013/01/10/infertility-and-obesity-is-there-a-connection/).

Due to both the importance and the complexities of this topic, we feel it deserves more attention. So today, we delve a little further into the research.

A new publication has just been published this month in the Netherlands. It’s called, Obesity : a ticking time bomb for reproductive health. Various experts examine the issues and challenges of obesity. They discuss how obesity affects fertility, reproduction, and pregnancy. ¹

The growing number of obese people is an increasing concern for the medical profession. Obesity can pose specific challenges in relation to fertility and pregnancy. 1

Check out these findings from a study just published (December, 27, 2012) by Public Library of Science:

Worldwide, 48% of adult males are overweight or obese. An association between infertility and excessive body weight is now accepted, although focus remains primarily on females. It has been shown that parental obesity results in compromised embryo development, disproportionate changes in embryo metabolism and reduced blastocyst cell number. Data clearly demonstrate that paternal obesity has significant negative effects on the embryo at a variety of key early developmental stages, resulting in delayed development, reduced placental size and smaller offspring.²

The US Women’s Health Study concluded that even a slightly elevated BMI (Body Mass Index – measurement of height compared to weight) at the age of 18 was a risk factor for anovulatory infertility, or infertility resulting from no ovulation.  Women with an elevated BMI are also at risk for decreased rate of pregnancy from assisted fertilization.

In recent years, there have been a number of obesity and infertility studies.

A study from Greece reports women who have upper body obesity have insulin resistance, increased risk of peripheral aromatization (hormones leach into the fat tissue and are not available for use by the body) and several other hormone related events that are thought to be an influence in the disrupted ovulatory process in obese women.³ In a study from Poland, researchers confirmed that factors that two factors affecting fertility are obesity and cigarette smoking.⁴

A study performed in Kuwait and published in the Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, researchers found that the most effective treatment for infertility in women who suffered from obesity was weight loss. This research was later confirmed by researchers from Italy and reported in Maturitas.  Weight loss often leads to improved conception rates because ovulation tends to resume.

The need for intervention for infertility caused by obesity is before the woman is attempting to conceive.  Weight loss should be a gradual lifestyle change and not a desperate attempt to lose those pounds so ovulation will begin.  Once a woman has conceived, obesity and infertility lead to obesity and higher risk to mother and baby.  Weight loss during pregnancy is difficult and dangerous to both the mother and child.

There is varying beliefs about stabilized weight during pregnancy.  Although weight loss is definitely a problem for the baby and mother, a stable weight during pregnancy without weight gain is acceptable to some physicians, especially in women who are severely overweight.

Obesity and infertility is a growing concern as the percentage of the population that becomes overweight increases.  The risks to obesity and infertility will extend from conception to gestation and then to the birth process, leaving children of obese parents at risk for health issues for the remainder of their lives.

References

(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/101598266

(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23300638

(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12119994

(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16566380