IS YOUR
LIFESTYLE
HINDERING YOUR
CHANCES OF
STARTING
A FAMILY?
INFERTILITY ISN’T ALWAYS SOMETHING YOU’RE BORN
WITH. HEALTH LEARNS THAT IN MANY CASES, A SIMPLE
CHANGE IN LIFESTYLE CAN IMPROVE A WOMAN’S
CHANCE OF CONCEPTION.
Obesity and Your
Chances of Conception
Your lifestyle is the collection of
your habits and attitudes. What you
eat and your physical activities are
a part of your lifestyle. Being obese
or overweight is often a result of bad
eating habits and a lack of physical
activity. On the flip side, fit peoplemen and women alike - who have a
normal amount of body fat, generally
have higher chances of conceiving
than obese and overweight peopl e do.
Women’s
Weight and Fertility
It’s quite simple. A woman’s body
that has too many fat cells in it is
usually producing excessive adverse
hormones such as LH and estrogen.
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An excess of these hormones can
cause irregularities in your cycle and
interfere with ovulation. When the
ovulation cycle is disrupted, getting
pregnant becomes much more
difficult. Now you might say, “What if
I don’t want to lose weight? I can just
take fertility treatments. I have the
money to spend anyway.” The reality
is that excessive weight can mean less
success for that too. It’s because too
much body fat obstructs the proper
absorption of fertility drugs. So
really, there’s no escape. A fitter body
equates a better chance at fertility.
Other Problems
However, obesity’s negative effects
on women don’t stop at conception.
Even when a baby is underway, the
mother being obese or overweight puts
her at great risk of miscarriage and
premature birth. This is because these
women are more prone to hypertension
and diabetes during pregnancy. As
a result, their capacity to carry on
a healthy, successful pregnancy is
compromised.
Men, Obesity and Fertility
More often than not, when a couple
is having troubles conceiving, people
assume it’s the woman who has
infertility issues. The truth is, in 30
percent of couples who can’t conceive,
it’s the man who’s infertile. And yes,
obesity is a factor in this too.
On a chemical level, having too many
fat cells produces too much leptin, a
hormone which can damage sperm cells.