Infertility And Obesity
After the first test tube baby was born in 1978, infertility and reproductive health are no longer taboo subjects and they have been widely discussed and many new findings have also been reported. Daily diet, exercise and family medical history have been found to be contributing to bad health and infertility. But the relationship between the weight, nutrition and reproduction has only been open for discussion recently.
Many people between 30-55 years of age have been known to die due to excess body weight. When the BMI (body mass index) is over 30, the risk of death due to excess weight increases by 50%. The ethnic origins of a person also play an important role in this regard. Over 400000 deaths take place every year due to people being overweight and they suffer from heart problems, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, arthritis, fragile X syndrome, gout, sleep apnea, liver and gallbladder disease and colon cancer.
Women who are overweight and obese have many more gynecological problems like cancer in the breast, ovary, cervix and the uterus, problems during their pregnancy, endocrinological problems, urogynaecological problems as well as infertility issues. A proper study should be conducted to establish the actual relationship between obesity and reproductive health problems.
Many women who are overweight and obese are reported to be infertile. They would also be suffering from irregular periods and anovular cycles. Many women who are infertile suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which is connected to obesity, chronic anovulation and irregular periods. These women may or may not be suffering from hyperandrogenism and hyperinsulinemia. Women who have a BMI which is more than 30 suffer from anovulation which is due to the excess secretion of hypothalamic GnRH, pituitary LH and FSH. Hyperinsulinemia is a condition when the body which does not have PCOS is resistant to insulin and this can have an impact on fertility. Though the exact relationship between obesity and infertility has not yet been understood, there is a hyper stimulation of ovarian steroids which is due to insulin and the sex hormone binding globulin. Women who are obese are known to stand the risk of losing the pregnancy early after IVF, decreased rate of pregnancy, decreased rate of fertilization, larger need for gonadotropins and poor response to gonadotropins. People may not respond to IVF due to the poor quality of the oocyte and this will lead to poor fertilization or the embryo may not get deposited properly due to the poor quality of the endometrial layer.