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Obesity Linked to Infertility in Men
Brief Description:
Obese men are more likely to be infertile than normal weight men according
to a study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Transcript:
AKINSO: Obese men are more likely to be infertile than
normal weight men according to a study by the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences. Since 1993, researchers have studied couples enrolled
in the Agricultural Health Study, which examined factors that impact
the health of farmers and their families in agricultural communities.
Doctor Donna Baird, an NIEHS epidemiologist with the study, said women
who are overweight or obese tend to have a more difficult time becoming
pregnant than normal-weight women, but whether men who are overweight
or obese also have fertility problems had not been studied until now.
BAIRD: "We found out that men's BMI which is a body
mass index, as it increased so did their risk of infertility. So men
with BMI of 32-34 which is considered in the obese range had about twice
the odds of infertility as men with a normal BMI like 20-22 which is
considered normal weight. So based on data from this study, an increase
in weight of about 20 pounds would be expected to increase the risk of
infertility by about 10 percent."
AKINSO: The data on infertility and body mass came
from questionnaires that about 1,500 farmers and their wives completed
when they enrolled in the study. Dr. Baird said this study provides data
on some additional health problems associated with obesity. For more
information, visit, www.niehs.nih.gov. This is Wally Akinso at the National
Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland.
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| Date: 09/01/2006 |
Reporter:
Wally Akinso |
Sound
Bite:
Dr. Donna Baird |
Topic:
Fertility |
| Institute(s): NIEHS |
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