Obese men are more than three times as likely to have low sperm counts compared with their normal-weight peers. The heaviest men tend to be at triple the risk of having a low count of progressively motile sperm - sperm that swim forward in a straight line.
There is a strong relationship between overweight and
obesity and altered sperm parameters. There has been some evidence that obesity may impair fertility in men while increased body fat can contribute to lower testosterone levels and higher oestrogen levels. To examine how body mass index (BMI) affects sperm quality, researchers from America evaluated 390 men who sought infertility treatment with their partners over a 2-year period.
Twenty-four percent of the men were normal weight, 43 percent were overweight, and 33 percent were obese. Overall, 10.5 percent had low sperm counts.
It was found that the prevalence of low sperm counts rose as BMI increased; obese men were 3 times more likely to have low sperm counts than normal-weight men. The risk of having a low count of progressively mobile sperm also rose with BMI; obese men were 3 times more likely than normal-weight men to have a low progressively mobile sperm count. Obese men were also twice more likely than overweight or normal-weight men to have a high percentage of abnormally shaped sperm.
While there was a trend towards increasing likelihood of
erectile dysfunction with increasing BMI, the relationship wasn't statistically significant. However, other studies have found that obesity is associated with a greater risk of impotence.
The fact that the study was done among men seeking infertility treatment makes it likely that the study group had worse sperm quality than the population at large. Nevertheless, the correlation of poor sperm quality and increased BMI in the general population is probably similar. Future studies are however needed that look at this relationship over time as well as how weight loss might affect sperm characteristics.
Fertility and Sterility
December 2008
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