Being Overweight Could Result To Low Sperm Count For Men
05. July 2011
Being overweight or obese could affect the sperm count of men. (Photo: dailymail.co.uk)
Here is one good reason why men need to live a healthy lifestyle by eating healthy foods and doing some form of exercises on a regular basis.
A recent medical finding has shown that overweight or obese men have a lower chance of becoming a parent due to low sperm count. The experts got the result on the sperm samples from 1,940 men and matched them to the donor’s weight.
The benchmark was the body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat among adults. Under this, normal weight is defined as a BMI of 18.5-25; overweight as 25-30 and obesity as 30 or more.
The higher the count in excess weight, the more the sperm quality suffered, especially among those in the obese category, according to the findings, presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Stockholm. “Excess weight causes a modification in sperm characteristics, probably as a result of hormonal disturbance, which results in lower sperm numbers, motility and vitality,” explained Paul Cohen-Bacrie, scientific director at Eylau-Unilabs in Paris, part of a Swiss-based network of labs in 12 European countries.
Moreover, based on the result of the study it was discovered that the sperm count was lower by 10 percent among overweight men, and by 20 percent among obese men, compared with counterparts of normal weight. The percentage of men who had a zero sperm count rose almost fourfold, from one percent in the normal weight category, to 3.8 percent, in the obese category.
Low sperm count (Oligozoospermia) is one of the main causes of male infertility. It is considered that a man has low sperm count when he has less than 20 million spermatozoa per one ml of ejaculate. A great number of medical conditions as well as many biologic and environmental factors can cause low sperm count temporarily or permanently.
Unfortunately, the reliable treatments for increasing sperm count are not as many. Some commonly used medications and supplements for increasing sperm count are testosterone, certain vitamins, high-protein diets, anti-oxidants, and herbal semen enhancement pills. The effectiveness of most of these has not been clinically tested; yet, there are some quality semen enhancement pills that show significant results in improving both sperm count and quality.
(rockefellernews/rb)
« ‘Transformers’ A Huge Hit Among Global Audience With $372-Million EarningsUS Intel Says Terrorist Seeks To Implant Bomb On Humans »
-
http://pregnancyandbaby.sheknows.com/blog/fertility/how-to-improve-your-sperm-and-keep-it-healthy/ How to improve your sperm and keep it healthy | Pregnancy & Baby Blog
