If you're obese and planning on fathering children, you need to shed the extra pounds if you want to give them a good start in life. Until now, the health risks surrounding obesity and pregnancy have focused on overweight moms. New research, however, shows that obesity has a negative impact on sperm, and men need to shape up as well.
Scientists from the University of Melbourne's Department of Zoology created mice embryos through in vitro fertilization with sperm from both obese males and those of normal weight. The obese mice had been fed the equivalent of a Western-style fast-food diet for 10 weeks.
"We found that development was delayed in the fetuses produced from obese fathers," said researcher Natalie Binder. "The rate of embryo implantation into the womb and fetal development decreased in these animals by up to 15 per cent.
"Furthermore," she said, "placental weight and development was significantly less for embryos derived from the sperm of obese males.
"These findings indicate that paternal obesity not only negatively affects embryo development, but also impacts on the successful implantation into the womb," she said.
"This results in a small placenta which impairs fetal growth and development with long-term consequences for the health of the offspring."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 72.3 percent of American men over the age of 20 are overweight or obese.
"A lot of men don’t understand what contribution they’re having, but they need to be healthy before conceiving," said researcher David Gardner. "Sperm needs to be match fit for the games of life, and creating life is the biggest thing that we can do."??