Weight and Fertility
Q. My husband and I are both overweight. Is this a cause for infertility?
A. Women and men who are overweight or obese have significantly lower pregnancy rates when compared to their normal-weight peers. Fat cells are hormonally active, making weak hormones on their own, converting some weak hormones in the blood to stronger ones, and acting as storage depots for many other hormones. In addition, women who are obese have much higher rates of ovulation problems, irregular periods, and miscarriage. Even the most potent fertility treatment options, such as in vitro fertilization, are less successful for women who are obese. The good news is that weight loss through diet and exercise can reverse these negative effects. The other bit of good news is that women do not need to lose 10 dress sizes to improve their fertility. Several well-designed studies have documented improved success with infertility treatments with as little as a 5% weight loss. For a woman who ways 200 pounds, that means losing 10 pounds. The key concept with weight loss to improve fertility is to increase fat metabolism, that is, to burn fat even when weight may be stable. Individuals who exercise regularly quite often lose weight initially, then go through a period of time where their weight loss plateaus. As frustrating as this phenomenon can be, they are still receiving benefit from their work-outs because they are still burning fat; it is just being replaced with muscle that is more dense than fat.