Post Date December, 03 2023
The larger the waist circumference, the worse the sperm
The research team led by Gias Shayeb from the University of Aberdeen in the UK analyzed the sperm of over 5000 men in Scotland and divided them into different groups based on their Body Mass Index (BMI), which is the square of their weight in kilograms divided by their height in meters. A BMI between 20 and 25 is considered normal weight, 25 and 29 are considered overweight, and 30 and above are considered obese.
The results indicate that men with a BMI of 20-25 have higher levels of normal sperm, while overweight and obese individuals not only have lower semen volume (sperm count), but also have fewer normal sperm counts. The probability of obese men having fewer sperm is over 60%, and their probability of carrying abnormal sperm is also over 40%. The situation of overweight individuals is similar to that of obese men. Shayebu et al. excluded other factors that may affect sperm count in their study, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, drug abuse, and age, confirming that obesity does indeed affect sperm count and sperm quality.
Why does obesity affect the quantity and quality of men's sperm? There are currently some theories and hypotheses, among which three are more widely recognized. One is that adipose tissue can affect sex hormone metabolism, which may hinder sperm production and sperm quality. Secondly, temperature may have a negative impact on sperm production. The normal body temperature of a person is around 37 ℃, and the optimal temperature for sperm production is 2 ℃ lower than the normal temperature. Obese men have more fat, so their body temperature is higher than normal people. The high temperature in the scrotum can directly affect the spermatogenic ability of the testes, resulting in a decrease in sperm production; Even if the number of sperm generated is not affected, the quality of the generated sperm will still be affected.
More sperm damage in diabetes patients
In addition, obesity can lead to diabetes or recessive diabetes, which can also damage sperm and thus affect male fertility. This has been proven by the research of other researchers. When Cohen Maridis of Queen's University Belfast treated 40 men who were not overweight but suffered from diabetes, he found that because of diabetes, the blood sugar level of the patients was high, which damaged the DNA in their sperm. They found that people with diabetes were twice as likely to have sperm damage as normal men without diabetes.
Nevertheless, researchers cannot confirm that obesity necessarily leads to infertility, which depends on other factors. For example, if a obese man marries a normal woman, their reproductive function will be compensated by the other party, so it may not necessarily lead to infertility. However, if obese men and obese women are combined, their obesity will overlap and form an amplification effect, resulting in infertility.
(Intern Editor: Huang Jiazhen)
