Whether you are a man or a woman, weight is a crucial aspect of health. If you are obese, you can face severe health issues such as heart and joint disease. At the same time, if you are underweight, you can face issues such as nutritional deficiencies, impaired immune functions, and decreased muscle mass strength. While these issues affect both males and females alike, the consequences of unmanaged weight are especially severe for female fertility. The question now becomes, what is the impact of body weight on female fertility?
In this blog post, we explore the effects of underweight and obesity on women's fertility. Now, do note that this blog is meant for general information and should not be taken as medical advice. With this cleared, let's get started.
Regardless of what anyone says, being overweight can lead to an unhealthy body and severe health issues. This is especially so if you are aiming for pregnancy and are over a certain weight.
That said, the connection between obesity and fertility is not simple or straight. Rather, it is a multifaceted connection. Excessive body weight can affect various aspects of reproductive health. Some of the key ways in which obesity can affect fertility are as follows.
Obesity is often associated with hormonal imbalances, especially in the case of excess estrogen. Hormonal disruptions can affect menstrual cycles' regularity. Furthermore, elevated levels of estrogen can lead to irregularities in the feedback loop involving the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and ovaries. These irregularities are essential for normal reproductive function.
Obesity is often associated with insulin resistance. In these circumstances, cells become less responsive to insulin. This can lead to severe negative issues, as insulin resistance leads to elevated insulin levels in the bloodstream. High insulin levels can then impact the ovaries, causing overproduction of androgens, eventually contributing to disruption of ovulation. Furthermore, it can also contribute to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which is a common cause of infertility.
Obesity is often associated with a decline in egg and embryo quality. The decline in egg and embryo quality can inevitably lead to reduced chances of a successful pregnancy. Furthermore, excess body fat inflammation can also contribute to oxidative stress. This further hampers egg and embryo development.
Obesity can reduce fertility treatments' success rates, including in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is because overweight or obese women often require higher fertility medication doses. Because of this, the overall success and fate of ART procedures can be reduced.
These are just some of the problems overweight can cause in fertility and pregnancy.
Now that you know the impact of being overweight on fertility, some of you may think about losing weight. However, losing too much weight and being underweight can be just as risky, if not more, for fertility as being overweight. Some of the impacts of being underweight on fertility are as follows.
One of the key hormones contributing to fertility is estrogen. We mentioned earlier that high body weight can elevate estrogen levels, which is harmful to fertility. Well, on the opposite side of the spectrum, low body weight can lead to estrogen underproduction, which is equally harmful to fertility. Estrogen is an essential hormone for regulating the menstrual cycle. Low estrogen levels can lead to irregular or absent menstrual periods. This ultimately leads to lower or irregular fertility periods.
Amenorrhea is a health condition which means a lack of menstrual periods. This condition negatively affects the fertility of a woman. This condition is often linked to disruptions in the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, which is a key system that controls reproductive hormones.
Similarly, Anovulation is the health condition where the ovary does not produce mature ovules. This normally happens mid-way through the menstrual cycle and is common among underweight females. Needless to say, the lack of mature ovulation negatively affects female fertility.
When people think about fertility, they rarely associate it with energy reserves. However, having adequate energy is extremely essential to being fertile. After all, producing fertile eggs and sustaining a pregnancy takes incredible energy. This is where being underweight becomes a serious problem. An underweight body cannot reserve large amounts of energy, which is often required for producing fertile eggs. If a body is underweight, it directs most of its energy reserves to sustain the core functioning of the body. This redirects precious resources away from the reproductive process. Therefore, being underweight leads to inadequate reproduction resources, which in turn leads to fertility issues.
Besides not having adequate energy for the body to contribute to fertile eggs, being underweight also decreases the quality of produced eggs. If a body is underweight and lacks body mass, it leads to inadequate nutrition distribution. This can contribute to oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress is an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Free radicals are unstable molecules that damage cells, like rust damages metal. Antioxidants are our defense system that neutralizes free radicals. Oxidative stress happens when there are too many free radicals and not enough antioxidants to fight them off. Now, being underweight often means not getting adequate amounts of micronutrients, which often leads to inadequate antioxidants in the body.
All of these factors lead to the reduction of the egg quality and viable eggs, leading to increased chances of infertility.
These are just some of the ways in which being underweight affects the fertility of a woman.
Female fertility is a complicated topic to discuss. Many factors affect this, and one such factor is weight. Regardless of what anyone says, not being the ideal weight can have a severe negative effect on the reproductive health of the female. This negative effect can stem from over or under-production of hormones, lack of nutrients, resistance to insulin, and many other factors. These negative factors may occur if you are both overweight or obese and underweight. Both of these weight conditions are equally harmful to the overall fertility. Therefore, it is ideal to maintain a moderate body weight to regulate fertility as a female. Naturally, weight is just one of the many factors that affect fertility. Regardless, it is still a key aspect.
Do note that this blog is just meant to provide general information. If you want detailed guidelines regarding body weight and fertility, contact an expert immediately. Regardless, we hope you find this helpful. If you want expert advice and services regarding fertility, let us know at Hardik IVF- Trusted IVF Center in Nepal. Thank you for reading to the end.
Yes, being overweight can disrupt hormonal balance, leading to irregular menstrual cycles and ovulatory dysfunction, making conception more challenging.
Yes, underweight women may experience hormonal imbalances, irregular menstrual cycles, and Anovulation, making conception difficult. Inadequate body weight can also affect the quality of eggs.
Both extremes of body weight can affect the success rates of fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF). We advise you to maintain a healthy weight before undergoing fertility treatments.