Understanding pregnancy or fertility and its complications involves a lot of explained and unexplained factors, which influence one's chances of having a baby.
Factors that affect the chances of conception can range from the age of the couple, the lifestyle they follow —stressed or stress-free — health and more.
According to a new study conducted by the National Institutes of Health, another factor that can influence a couple's ability to conceive is obesity.
The study's couples were enrolled in the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) program, and the research observed the link between environmental toxins exposure and fertility.
The research reveals that if both the partners are obese, then the couple may take nearly 55 percent to 59 percent more time to conceive vis-à-vis non-obese couples.
The Findings Of The Study
For the purpose of the study, nearly 501 couples who were from Texas and Michigan and part of LIFE were observed from 2005 to 2009. Women who were part of the study were aged between 18 years and 44 years, whereas the men were above 18 years.
All the women were asked to maintain a journal or record of several things such as intercourse, monthly menstrual cycle, as well as pregnancy test outcomes.
The researchers observed these couples till they conceived or till one year of attempting to have a baby.
The team also calculated the BMI or body mass index for each subject and divided them into two groups namely Obese Class I and Obese Class II.
Those in Class I had a BMI that ranged from 30 to 34.9, whereas those in Class II had a BMI over 35.
The researchers compared the overall time it took for those in the Class II group to conceive, which comprised 69 women and 75 men, with the non-obese group which was composed of 228 women and 84 men.
The researchers deduced that the obese group had difficulty and took longer conceiving when compared with its non-obese counterparts.
Based on the fecundability odds ratio (FOR) — which measures the chances of conception based on the menstrual cycle, relative to the BMI — the Class II subjects scored .45, which implies that they took 55 percent longer when compared to non-obese group that scored 1.
Why Do Obese People Take Longer To Conceive?
The researches have determined that the weight of the woman plays a pivotal role in determining fertility. In most cases, this can be related to less successful fertility treatments.
Obesity can highly affect a couple's fertility and, therefore, it is advisable that specialists warn or make them aware of weight issues hindering pregnancy during counseling sessions.
"Our results also indicate that fertility specialists may want to consider couples' body compositions when counseling patients," notes senior researcher Rajeshwari Sundaram.
The study has been published in the journal Human Reproduction.
Photo: Torsten Mangner | Flickr
