How does obesity affect sperm? - Meal Plan
Does being overweight affect your sperm count?
How does obesity affect sperm production?
Can being overweight cause fertility problems?
Does losing weight help male fertility?
They found that overweight men were 11 percent more likely to have a low sperm count and 39 percent more likely to have no sperm in their ejaculate. Obese men were 42 percent more likely to have a low sperm count than their normal-weight peers and 81 percent more likely to produce no sperm.
Obese men are more likely to have higher estrogen levels, combined with lower levels of sperm-producing hormones like inhibin b and androgen. This can mess with sperm count, sperm concentration and the sperm’s ability to swim well, according to a March 2010 study in the journal Nature Reviews Urology.
New research suggests that obesity can reduce the quality of men’s sperm as well as lower a woman’s chances of successfully conceiving a child using in vitro fertilization. Danish researchers found men who are overweight or obese have significantly lower sperm counts than men of normal weight.
Male obesity has been linked with a reduction in sperm concentration and motility, an increase in sperm DNA damage and changes in reproductive hormones. One of the potential underlying pathological mechanisms behind diminished reproductive performance in obese men is sperm oxidative stress.
Obesity causes a reduction in the levels of some fatty acids in spermatozoa (docosahexaenoic acid, palmitic acid) associated with an increase in DNA fragmentation index and a reduction in total sperm count, sperm vitality and sperm motility [70].
Obesity leads to erectile dysfunction in a considerably greater extent than aging. Mechanisms responsible for the independent influence of obesity on the erectile dysfunction are: hormonal imbalance, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, psychological factors and physical inactivity.
Weight loss was associated with an increase in total sperm count and semen volume among men who participated in a 14-week weight loss program. Additionally, the weight loss was associated with an increase in testosterone, SHBG and AMH, and FAI improved significantly in the group with the largest weight reduction.
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