Private MD News

Studies link obesity to fertility problems

Category: Infertitlity Hormone Testing

For women who have received FSH tests indicating they have impaired fertility, losing weight may be one of the simplest ways to improve their chances of conception. Significant evidence suggests that being overweight makes getting pregnant more difficult.

A team of researchers from the University of Sydney showed that women who were seeking treatments at fertility clinics conceived at a higher rate after losing weight, according to MedPage Today. The findings were based on an investigation in which overweight women seeking treatments were assigned to either receive weight loss counseling or standard treatment.

Not only did those who lost weight conceive more easily than those who did not, dropping a few extra pounds was more cost-effective. The results showed that women who lost weight spent more than $9,000 less on fertility treatments than those who did not lose weight, the news source reports.

The findings are simply the latest in a string of research connecting obesity to fertility problems. A 2007 study published in the journal Human Reproduction showed that overweight men and women were significantly less likely to conceive than normal weight adults.