“Obesity is one among the foremost common and well-documented risk factors for infertility in both men and ladies. However, there are several treatments for infertility including IVF & ICSI which can help you to become a parent. But it is always necessary to control your weight to live a healthy life as obesity is connected to other diseases as well.” Says Dr. Mohit Saraogi who is known for the best IVF treatment in Mumbai.

So now the question is how to deal with excessive body weight. Well,  there are several things that you can do to reduce excess weight or fat f4o your body. The first thing that you should focus on is to change your lifestyle. You need to change a few of your habits & that can help you to lose weight. You will have to stop consuming alcohol & junk foods. Try to increase vegetables & fruits in your regular diet. Physiotherapy & regular exercise will help you. But these are only helpful in the primary stage. Unfortunately, we have seen several cases where people were not able to lose weight even after following a strict diet plan & regular exercise. So does that mean that you can’t live a healthy life? Well, you can opt for advanced surgical methods which will help you to reduce weight.” Says Dr. Harsh who is one of the best bariatric surgeon in Mumbai.

Infertility

Infertility is a medical condition characterized by a diminished or absent ability to conceive. It doesn't imply (either within the male or the female) the existence of as serious or irreversible a condition as sterility. Although infertility may be a common condition, it's often hard to pin down its cause. Men and ladies may each have risk factors that will contribute to infertility, and these risk factors are often genetic, environmental, or associated with lifestyle.

Obese women and infertility

Numerous studies report that ladies who are overweight or obese tend to possess a harder time becoming pregnant than normal-weight women. Moreover, once pregnancy occurs, obese women have a better rate of pregnancy loss.

Being overweight also can cause abnormal hormone issues affecting reproductive processes for both women and men. In women, it can cause the overproduction of insulin, which can cause irregular ovulation.

Obese men and infertility

Men with increased body mass indexes (BMI) are significantly more likely to be infertile than normal-weight men. The data suggest that a 20-pound increase in a man's weight may increase the prospect of infertility by about 10 percent.

Hormone irregularities in men affect the stimulation of the testicles that inhibit sperm production. Excess fat actually causes the male hormone, testosterone, to be converted into estrogen, and decrease testicle stimulation. Researchers found that a high BMI in men correlates with reduced testosterone levels. The study showed overweight men to possess testosterone levels 24 percent less than men of normal weight.

Hormones

Excess body fat also impacts the production of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which is important to regular ovulation in women, and to the production of sperm in men. Specifically, GnRH triggers the release of the LH (LH) and FSH (FSH), both critical to the event of eggs and sperm.

In vitro fertilization

When one or both of the partners suffer from infertility, due to obesity, hormonal imbalances, or any other factors they often address in vitro fertilization (artificially assisted) for help in conceiving. A recent study comparing the success rates of 5,800 IVF attempts with the BMI of the female participants found that obese women with a BMI more than 35 had lower success rates compared with normal-weight women (BMI of 20-25). Additionally, obese women were found to possess a lower rate of success with embryo implantation (13 percent vs. 19 percent among healthy  weight women). They were also less likely to conceive after in vitro fertilization.

Weight loss surgery and pregnancy

Many infertile individuals, especially women, address weight-loss surgery options to assist them to reduce their weight. Women seeking surgical help for their obesity issues are advised to not conceive for a minimum of 18 months after their surgery. However, some women do become pregnant while still within the active weight-loss phase post-surgery.

After any weight-loss surgery that restricts food intake and/or features a malabsorptive component, some basic precautions should be taken before becoming pregnant. Severe iron deficiency or anemia and vitamin B complex deficiency resulting from malabsorption can complicate pregnancy following gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity. Generally, vitamin B12 deficiency responds to parenteral treatment (IV or injection), and mild to moderate iron-deficiency best responds to oral iron supplementation caused by the malabsorption component of the bypass.

Data indicates that a pregnancy that develops after the amount of rapid postoperative weight-loss also shows that neither the mother nor the developing fetus is unduly endangered if appropriate precautions, monitoring, and nutritional care are provided.

Conclusion

 Obesity is considered to be a major health issue related to infertility and lots of other co-morbid conditions. Studies show weight-loss is extremely valuable in the management of such patients as this can enhance fertility, and cause successful pregnancy.