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Expectant fathers need to fight excess weight
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Experts are urging future fathers to lose excess weight before conceiving a child.
A new study by Melbourne scientists has shown that a father's reproductive abilities can be significantly affected by obesity or even extra pounds.
This can affect sperm quality, pregnancy progression, and cause changes in the placenta. In addition, an obese man has a lower chance of ever becoming a father.
The risk to the child's health was usually associated with the mother's excess weight, while fathers were left out in the cold.
Experts from the University of Melbourne are concerned about this public opinion and are calling on future fathers to reconsider their views on conception and pregnancy.
The World Health Organization cites disappointing figures – 75% of the male population of Australia have problems with excess weight. These figures significantly exceed the global average, which is 48%.
The results of the study were presented at the annual scientific meeting of the Endocrinology Council of Australia and the Reproductive Biology Council, which took place from 26 to 29 August 2012.
The study was authored by Professor David Gardner, Dr Natalie Hannan and PhD student Natalie Binder.
"There are a lot of people in Australia who have this problem. The number of obese men of reproductive age has more than tripled in the last decade," says Professor Gardner. "Many people don't realise the responsibility that they have. They have to look after their health if they are going to give birth to a new life, which is our mission."
In the course of the study, the scientists turned to in vitro fertilization (assisted reproductive technology used in cases of infertility). By using this technology on animals, the scientists were able to establish a link between paternal obesity and fetal development.
The specialists obtained embryos from a male mouse of normal weight and a male that was previously “put” on a fast-food diet that lasted ten weeks.
"We found delays in the development of the embryo from the "obese" donor. In addition, the rate of embryo implantation in the uterus and fetal development decreased by 15% compared to the embryo whose donor did not suffer from obesity," says Natalie Binder. "This proves that paternal obesity not only negatively affects the development of the embryo, but also complicates the procedure for its implantation in the uterus. In addition, problems with excess weight in men put the normal development and health of future offspring at risk."
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