How effective are weight-loss interventions for improving fertility in women and men who are overweight or obese? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide, with a corresponding increase in overweight and obese patients referred with infertility. This systematic review aimed to determine whether non-surgical weight reduction strategies result in an improvement in reproductive parameters affected by obesity, e.g. delayed time to pregnancy, oligozoospermia and azoospermia. No prior reviews have examined this within the general fertility population, or in both sexes.OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALEOur objective was to answer the question: ‘In overweight and obese women, men and couples seeking fertility treatment, what non-surgical weight-loss interventions have been used, and how effective are they at weight loss and improving reproductive outcomes?’SEARCH METHODSAn electronic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library was performed for studies between January 1966 and March 2016. Text word and MESH search terms used related to infertility, weight and barriers to weight loss. Inclusion criteria were an intervention to change lifestyle evaluated in any study design in participants of either gender with an unfulfilled desire to conceive. Studies were excluded if they included participants not attempting pregnancy, with illnesses that might cause weight fluctuations, or studies evaluating bariatric surgery. Two reviewers performed data extraction and quality assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for randomized trials, and a ratified checklist (ReBIP) for...
Source: Human Reproduction Update - Category: OBGYN Source Type: research