Obesity linked to poor sperm quality
Adding to evidence that obesity may affect a man's sperm quality, a new study finds that obese men tend to have less motile sperms than their thinner counterparts.
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Adding to evidence that obesity may affect a man's sperm quality, a new study finds that obese men tend to have less motile sperms than their thinner counterparts.
Earlier studies had yielded conflicting conclusions as to whether obesity impairs a man's fertility. But several recent studies have found that obese men tend to have poor quality sperms than leaner men - including lower sperm counts of which few are progressively motile (sperms that swim forward in a particular direction rather than moving about aimlessly).
To evaluate the relationship between sperm quality and body mass index (BMI), researchers evaluated semen samples from 749 Argentinean men who were a part of couples seeking help for fertility problems. The researchers calculated the body mass index of the participants and analysed their semen samples for sperm quality and levels of neutral alpha-glucosidase, fructose, citric acid and testosterone. Of the 749 men, 155 were categorised as obese.
It was found that obese men tended to have fewer motile sperms with fewer rapidly moving sperms than their normal-weight and overweight counterparts. Obese men also had generally lower levels of neutral alpha-glucosidase, or NAG - an enzyme secreted into the fluid of the epididymis (a structure at the back of the testes where sperm mature and acquire their motility). The concentration of NAG in the semen is considered a marker of how well the epididymis is functioning.
While the study linked obesity to lesser sperm motility, it found no effects on other measures of semen quality, including sperm count, testosterone levels and the percentage of normally shaped sperm. It might be possible for an obese man to improve his sperm quality by shedding some weight as research has shown that weight loss can reverse the imbalance in reproductive hormones that is linked to obesity, though more studies are needed to better understand the relationships among obesity, sperm quality and fertility.
Earlier studies had yielded conflicting conclusions as to whether obesity impairs a man's fertility. But several recent studies have found that obese men tend to have poor quality sperms than leaner men - including lower sperm counts of which few are progressively motile (sperms that swim forward in a particular direction rather than moving about aimlessly).
To evaluate the relationship between sperm quality and body mass index (BMI), researchers evaluated semen samples from 749 Argentinean men who were a part of couples seeking help for fertility problems. The researchers calculated the body mass index of the participants and analysed their semen samples for sperm quality and levels of neutral alpha-glucosidase, fructose, citric acid and testosterone. Of the 749 men, 155 were categorised as obese.
It was found that obese men tended to have fewer motile sperms with fewer rapidly moving sperms than their normal-weight and overweight counterparts. Obese men also had generally lower levels of neutral alpha-glucosidase, or NAG - an enzyme secreted into the fluid of the epididymis (a structure at the back of the testes where sperm mature and acquire their motility). The concentration of NAG in the semen is considered a marker of how well the epididymis is functioning.
While the study linked obesity to lesser sperm motility, it found no effects on other measures of semen quality, including sperm count, testosterone levels and the percentage of normally shaped sperm. It might be possible for an obese man to improve his sperm quality by shedding some weight as research has shown that weight loss can reverse the imbalance in reproductive hormones that is linked to obesity, though more studies are needed to better understand the relationships among obesity, sperm quality and fertility.
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