Obese couples ‘could be less fertile’

Couples in which both partners are obese are likely to have to wait for longer before conceiving a child, a new study has suggested.

Researchers from the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark found that obese couples are three times more likely to have to wait for more than a year before achieving pregnancy than couples of a normal weight.

According to lead researcher Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen, the finding could have implications for population levels in nations where obesity is on the increase.

“If overweight and obesity actually is a cause of subfecundity, and if the obesity epidemic continues, this reduced capacity to reproduce could become a serious public health problem,” she warned.

Although this is the first study to look at the effects of obesity on fertility in couples, previous research has shown that weight can affect fertility in women and men individually.

Surgeons have also recognised an increase in the number of women coming forward for obesity surgery in order to have an improved chance of becoming pregnant after the operation.

The latest study is published in the journal Human Reproduction.