by It has long been known that obesity has important implications for fertility and reproductive health. However, evidence linking abdominal obesity to female infertility was limited and inconclusive.
Now, a new study carried out in the US shows that women’s risk of infertility increases by 3% for each extra cm of their waist measurement.
A team of researchers from Center for Reproductive Medicine of Huizhou Central Hospital in Guangdong (China) has analyzed the possible relationship between waist circumference and infertility in women of childbearing age in the United States using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, for its acronym in English).
Infertility affects approximately 8-12% of couples of childbearing age worldwide. In developed countries, about 1 in 7 couples, and in developing countries about 1 in 4 couples, struggle with infertility.. Infertility is not only a serious psychological, social and economic burden for patients, but also increases the risk of reproductive cancers and metabolic diseases.
Female infertility is a multifactorial reproductive disorder that includes ovulatory dysfunction, tubal obstruction, cervical factors, endometriosis, decreased ovarian reserve, uterine pathologies or unexplained infertility, and can be triggered by genetic, infectious, environmental or lifestyle factors. Lifestyle habits, including obesity, have a negative impact on reproductive health.
Obesity is a growing global health problem with significant implications for fertility and reproductive health.
Waist circumference, which is an easily measurable anthropometric parameter, is correlated with fat mass and has been proposed to classify central obesity. In fact, several studies have revealed that waist circumference, alone or in conjunction with BMI, is related to the risk of multiple chronic diseases or outcomes of assisted reproductive technologies. However, previous research on the association between waist circumference and female infertility is very limited.
In total, 3,239 women aged between 18 and 45 years were included in the study.
The results published in ‘Further shows that waist size adjusts with female infertility independently of body mass index (BMI).
So, For every 1 cm increase in waist circumference, the risk of infertility increased by 3%.
For example, women in the highest quintile had a 2.64 times higher risk of infertility than those in the lowest quintile.
The authors conclude that waist circumference is a positive predictor of female infertility, regardless of BMI.
