Being overweight does not slow a man’s sperm, research suggests.
A new study contradicts the theory that having a high BMI reduces male fertility.
After analysing more than 200 men with healthy, overweight and obese BMIs over 10 months, the Nigerian scientists found no significant difference in their sperms’ speed, size or shape.
This comes just weeks after Bath and North East Somerset clinical commissioning group announced they will be denying IVF to women if they have a male partner with a BMI over 30, which is classified as obese.
Official guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) also states that men with a BMI higher than 30 are less likely to father children.
The researchers, from the University of Benin, analysed 206 healthy men whose BMIs ranged from normal, at 18.5-to-25, to obese.
The men, who were aged between 20 and 40, submitted sperm samples that were assessed in a lab for their count, motility and shape, as well as any abnormalities.
They were followed over 10 months.
According to the researchers, the results, published in the International Journal of Reproductive Biomedicine, suggest that ‘elevated BMI does not significantly influence semen quality’.
Lead researcher Dr James Osaikhuwuomwan said: “Comparison of semen parameters of the study population with BMI, showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the semen parameters (sperm count, motility and morphology) of the study population with normal and elevated BMI. -DAILY MAIL
