Once I suggested to a mother that she should control the diet of her daughter who is in primary school, but the mother also argued with me with pride: \”Why lose weight? My daughter has such a great body, like some have great bodies.\” Some children will get their period at the age of eight or nine, and some with poor health will not get their period at 13.\”
I am very worried about these biased understandings. I also have the same concerns about men and women of pregnancy age. Nutritional imbalance refers to obesity and malnutrition caused by high fat and high carbohydrate intake. It can be seen that being too fat or too thin is the most direct manifestation of nutritional imbalance. So what is the relationship between nutritional imbalance and fertility?
Too fat, it is difficult for expectant mothers to conceive
The body obesity index (BMI) can be used to measure the body\’s obesity standard. The individual\’s BMI value can be calculated by dividing the weight (kilograms) by the square of the height (meters) (BMI=kg/m2). Taking BMI=22 as the benchmark, the standard weight is between 18.5 and 24; if it is lower than 18.5, it is underweight; if it is higher than 24, it is overweight; if the BMI exceeds 27, it is considered obese. For example: 50kg/(1.60×1.60)=19.53, which is the standard weight.
In addition, waist circumference and body fat percentage can also be used as assessment tools. If the waist circumference of men is greater than 90 cm and the waist circumference of women is greater than 80 cm, they are classified as obese; if the body fat rate of men over 30 years old is greater than 25% and the body fat rate of women is greater than 30%, they are also classified as obese even if they are not overweight and have a small waist circumference.
Obesity has many side effects: it is unsightly and may bring a variety of diseases… But now, a latest study in the Netherlands has added another culprit: the more obese a woman is, the less likely she is to become pregnant successfully the lower.
Steiger, a Dutch obstetrician and gynecologist, surveyed more than 3,000 couples in 24 hospitals in the Netherlands from 2002 to 2004 to learn about their weight, height and smoking habits. As a result, he was surprised to find that women\’s obesity index was related to the probability of pregnancy: when the BMI was greater than 29, the probability of pregnancy was reduced by 4%. Women with a BMI of 35 to 40 were 26 less likely to be pregnant than women with a BMI of 21 to 29. %~43%. Therefore, he believes that obesity is a risk factor for women to stop ovulating.
Australia\’s Kadams Minger found that a protein in the cells that surround the egg that provides it with nutrients is the key to linking obesity and infertility. The reason why obese women have difficulty getting pregnant is because they excrete The egg is less likely to become a healthy embryo. If a woman is overweight, it will affect her ovulation period, ability to conceive, and the early development of the fetus. Moreover, if a woman is obese due to endocrine disorders before pregnancy, she is prone to polycystic ovary syndrome, which can cause follicle loss. It is not easy to mature, affecting normal ovulation and causing infertility.
If both men and women are obese, the probability of them waiting more than a year to get pregnant is three times higher than that of a normal-weight couple. Even if both men and women are only overweight but not obese, the probability of waiting for the woman to conceive for a year is 1.4 times higher than that of a normal-weight couple.
Too fat, the father-to-be has poor sperm
Men who are overweight or obese have low testosterone levels, poor sperm quality, and reduced fertility. Studies have shown that obese men have more poor-quality sperm than men of normal weight. For every 9 kilograms of excess weight, the risk of infertility increases by 10%.
Why does obesity affect a man’s sperm quantity and quality? First, adipose tissue has the characteristic of converting male hormones into estrogen, which reduces male hormones and increases estrogen in the male body, hindering sperm production and affecting sperm quality. Second, the normal body temperature of the human body is about 37°C, and the optimal temperature for sperm production is 2°C lower than the normal body temperature. Because obese men have more fat, their body temperature is higher than that of normal people. The temperature of their groin and scrotum is easy to rise, which will directly affect the spermatogenic capacity of the testicles, resulting in reduced sperm production, even if the number of sperm produced is not affected. affected, but the quality of sperm after production will also be affected. Third, male obesity can easily affect the development of reproductive systems such as testicles and penis. Obese people can easily induce high blood pressure and diabetes. These diseases can cause sexual dysfunction.
Research results show that men with a BMI of 20 to 25 have higher levels of normal sperm, while overweight and obese men not only have lower semen volume (sperm count), but also have lower normal sperm count. The probability of obese men having fewer sperm is more than 60%, and the probability of having abnormal sperm is also more than 40%. The situation is similar for overweight and obese men. Other factors that may affect sperm count, such as smoking, drinking, drug abuse, and age, confirm that obesity does affect sperm quantity and quality.
Pregnant mothers are too thin, and the risk of infertility increases exponentially
In fact, manyPeople have begun to pay attention to the harm of obesity to fertility, but now many young men and women are adopting various methods to lose weight in order to pursue a slim figure. People go on hunger strikes, eat vegetarian meals, take diet pills, etc. Little do they know that being too thin and having a partial eclipse can also cause infertility. Taking diet pills can also cause infertility, and there are many hidden dangers even if you get pregnant…
Harvard University professor Frisch wrote a book \”The Relationship between Female Fertility and Body Fat\”. She said that millions of healthy young women consume in their daily diet to stay slim. Low-fat food, but this is equivalent to making them infertile, because this eating habit will \”silently shut down\” the female reproductive system.
The book says that women who stay just below the ideal weight, that is, slightly underweight, are most likely to lose their fertility without knowing it, because this \”edge\” condition means that although their weight Although their menstrual cycles appear to be unaffected, they have actually lost their fertility. \”What surprises me most is the existence of such a thin line, that is, a woman of normal weight only needs to lose 3 pounds to greatly increase her chance of infertility, with absolutely no external signs that such a big thing has happened. occurs.\”
Frisch said: \”Fat is closely related to fertility. We can think of it as \’sex fat\’ because body fat provides reproductive energy. Many maintain model figures. of women are completely infertile. However, these women can continue to menstruate, and they will not think that there is anything wrong with them until they try to get pregnant and fail.\”
Fat is a problem for all women who love beauty. A powerful enemy, but vital to the health of the body. The right amount of fat is of great significance to women\’s health, as it is closely related to menstruation and fertility. If a woman is underweight, her chances of getting pregnant may be affected.
Women need to consume a certain amount of fat during each menstruation. Only by maintaining a normal menstrual cycle can a woman have reproductive capacity. Excessive fat loss will cause a lack of ovulation or amenorrhea, making it difficult to conceive. If you are too thin, women\’s estrogen levels are likely to be low, menstrual cycles will be irregular, and the ovulation rate will be low, making it difficult to conceive. In addition, women who are too skinny are prone to malnutrition, and the endometrium is like a barren soil, making it difficult for fertilized eggs to implant. For example, the ancient beauty Zhao Feiyan was unable to get pregnant because she was too thin.
For healthy adult women, their body fat content accounts for 25% to 30% of their total body weight. For women to maintain normal physiological functions such as menstruation, pregnancy and breastfeeding, their body fat content must reach more than 22% of their body weight. This is because the amount of adipose tissue is closely related to the metabolism of estrogen in women.
On the other hand, thin women have many problems even if they are pregnant. Pregnant mothers who are too thin have a higher possibility of fetal growth retardation in the womb due to lack of nutrition and insufficient hormone secretion. Research data shows that pregnant mothers who are too thin have higher rates of miscarriage, premature birth, and fetal dysplasia than normal pregnant mothers. At the same time, it is easy for pregnant mothers to be too thin during pregnancy.Malnutrition problems such as anemia and calcium deficiency may affect the fetus and cause fetal development failure if not corrected.
In addition, pregnant mothers who are too thin may have weak muscle strength. Sufficient strength is needed to support the increased weight during pregnancy and exert force during childbirth. Therefore, an expectant mother with a thin body will have a more difficult life during pregnancy. The most worrying thing is that if a pregnant mother is too thin and lacks nutrients in her body, she will easily prolong labor due to lack of physical strength during delivery. In addition, some trace elements play a vital role in childbirth. If the pregnant mother is deficient in nutrients, the labor pain process may be longer and the pain tolerance will be weaker.
The father-to-be is too thin, damaging the sperm production environment
For men, lean men have lower cholesterol, which affects the normal function of the hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis, reduces androgen secretion, affects sexual function, and can cause infertility in severe cases.
Danish researchers surveyed 1,558 men in the cities of Copenhagen and Aalborg, with an average age of 19. The researchers measured sperm quality indicators such as their sperm count, concentration, shape, activity and semen volume, and compared them with their body mass index (BMI). The results found that being too fat or too thin can reduce sperm quality. Researchers found that in terms of sperm count and concentration, men with a BMI below 20 were 28.1% and 36.4% lower than men with an ideal body shape, respectively. In addition, men with ideal body types also have a lower rate of sperm abnormalities.
Anthony Thomas, president of the American Society of Male Reproduction and Urology, pointed out: \”Sperm is related to the hormone balance in the male body. Men also need a certain amount of estrogen, and their fat cells can produce this chemical. If Too many or too few fat cells will disrupt the hormone balance and destroy the optimal environment for sperm production.\”
This article is provided by Baidu Reading and is excerpted from \”Very Good Pregnancy: Doing This \”Conceiveable\” Author: Yu Yue\’e