Genesis Fertility Clinic Blog
searching: “obesity”
June 6, 2009
Body weight and fertility
It seems that from the time of puberty most women think about their weight. Nearly all of my girlfriends are trying to lose at least 5 lbs. Statistically more and more of us are overweight or obese. There is a long list of reasons to maintain a normal body weight and fertility is on that list.
When we talk about weight, the easiest way to compare women is by BMI – a function of your height and weight (weight/height x height). To calculate your BMI click here.
A normal BMI is between 18 and 24 kg/m2. From 25-30 kg/m2 you are considered overweight and about 30 kg/m2 you are considered obese.
A large US study indicated that women whose BMI is > 24 kg/m2 took longer to conceive and were more likely to miscarry. Several other studies have observed that if an overweight or obese woman does conceive she is also at higher risk to have high blood pressure, diabetes, premature labor, need a c-section, stillbirth, neonatal death, and postpartum complications like infections than women who are of a normal BMI.
To add to the bad news fertility treatments like IVF don’t work as well in women who are overweight or obese. Pregnancy rates with IVF are lower and miscarriage rates are higher. It seems that the number of embryos and their quality is not affected by obesity but the implantation (embryo sticking) rate is much lower. In a recent large study (> 6000 women) the live birth rate for women of normal BMI was 31%, 29% for overweight women and 24% for obese women. To read this study click here.
So, keep yourself in a normal BMI range for optimal fertility and treatment success.
Dr. Beth Taylor, MD, FRCSC
Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility