Study Says Obesity And Male Infertility Are Global Health Problems

Obesity is a growing health concern because the rate of obese individuals keeps on increasing. A new study suggests that obese men have another challenge: obesity can apparently affect their fertility.

Obesity Affects Men's Fertility

According to EurekAlert, a man's dietary habit has an impact on his reproductive health. A team of researchers led by Professor Pedro F. Oliveira at the University of Porto, Portugal learned that obesity might impair a man's fertility.

"Obesity is a metabolic disease that promotes a strong hormonal dysfunction. Gut hormones are known to be strongly affected by the energy unbalance induced by overconsumption of food," explained Marco G. Alves, first author of the study. "However, the impact of those hormones on male reproductive system remains unknown."

Alves said that the gut and adipose hormones are involved in the growing concern of male fertility. The good thing is that these hormones will have important clinical applications and may lead to finding a new way for a therapeutic approach in treating subfertility and infertility among obese men.

Weight and Fertility

According to Your Fertility, when a man is overweight or obese his sperm quality is worse than men with a healthy weight. Being obese or overweight can cause hormonal changes that reduce one's fertility.

Aside from this, due to weight issues, men grow less interested in sex and will probably have difficulty getting an erection. These factors reduce the chances of an overweight or obese man to have a child.

Another study in 2012 via the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, shares the same concern about obesity and infertility among men. The study discovered that male obesity has a negative impact on one's fertility.

The changes in hormone levels and the direct changes to sperm function and sperm molecular composition are among the reason behind infertility problems. Per EurekAlert, the new study is the most recent and relevant evidence about male obesity and infertility.

This supports the previous studies suggesting that lifestyle and dietary habits are significant in men's reproductive health. The study was published in the Current Pharmaceutical Design Journal.