Australia research links obesity, infertility
Australian researchers have found
a fatty diet damages eggs in the ovaries and prevents them
from becoming healthy embryos, a finding they say may explain
why obese women are often infertile.
While obesity has long been suspected of hampering a
woman's ability to conceive, the University of Adelaide
research is said to be the first to find a direct scientific
link.
Researcher Cadence Minge said experiments on female
mice showed that fat has an impact on the egg before it is
even fertilised.
"Consuming a diet of high fat causes damage to eggs
stored in female ovaries," Minge said. "As a result, when
fertilised, these eggs are not able to undergo normal, healthy
development into embryos."
Minge said a protein called peroxisome
proliferator-activated receptor gamma found in the cells that
nourish the egg was the main reason for diet-induced
infertility.
"The behaviour of this protein helps to determine the
way in which the ovaries sense and respond to fats," she said.
"Being able to control this protein will be very
important in the quest to reverse infertility caused by poor
diets."
Minge found that an anti-diabetes drug called
rosglitazone helped counter the protein's impact, resulting in
higher birth weights and better rates of foetal survival in
the mice being studies.
However, she said the drug had side effects and could
not be seen as a "quick-fix" for infertile obese women.