• Weight loss doesn't help pregnancy chanc

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Mon Mar 14 22:30:38 2022
    Weight loss doesn't help pregnancy chances, study finds

    Date:
    March 14, 2022
    Source:
    University of Virginia Health System
    Summary:
    Women who are obese and struggling to become pregnant are often
    advised to lose weight, but a new study finds no fertility benefits
    from weight loss.



    FULL STORY ========================================================================== Women who are obese and struggling to become pregnant are often advised to
    lose weight, but a new study finds no fertility benefits from weight loss.


    ==========================================================================
    A randomized study of 379 women with obesity and unexplained infertility
    found that intensive lifestyle changes that shed pounds led to no better chances of pregnancy and healthy births than simply increasing physical activity without weight loss.

    "We have known for decades that obese women often have difficulty
    getting pregnant," said researcher Daniel J. Haisenleder, PhD, of
    the University of Virginia School of Medicine's Center for Research in Reproduction. "For this reason, many physicians advise weight loss prior
    to conception. However, there are few studies that have addressed the
    issue comparing a healthy lifestyle - - i.e., exercise -- vs. exercise
    plus weight loss." Obesity and Pregnancy The FIT-PLESE study, conducted
    at nine academic medical centers across the country, divided participants
    into two groups: Half the women dieted intensely using meal replacements, medications and increased physical activity. The other half simply
    increased their physical activity without trying to lose weight.

    After completing the programs, both groups received three rounds of
    standard infertility treatments.

    Women in the weight-loss program ended up losing, on average, 7% of their
    body weight, while participants in the exercise-only group typically
    maintained their weights. But, in the end, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the frequency of healthy
    births. In total, 23 of the 188 women who completed the 16-week intensive weight-loss program ended up giving birth; among the 191 who completed
    the exercise-only program, 29 gave birth.

    The intensive dieting program did offer health benefits for the women
    who completed it, however. In addition to dropping pounds, they saw
    a major decrease in metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that
    increase the risk for serious health problems such as diabetes, stroke
    and heart disease.

    Based on their findings, Haisenleder and his collaborators conclude that
    the weight-loss program did not make women more fertile or improve birth outcomes compared with simply exercising. They note the health benefits
    of weight loss may not translate into better odds of getting pregnant.

    "Weight loss improved metabolic health in these subjects. Unfortunately
    the changes seen did not improve fertility," Haisenleder
    said. "Infertility within this population remains an important health
    issue, and will require further studies to address the problem in
    the future." Funding for the research was provided by the National
    Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of
    Child Health and Human Development, grants U10 HD38992, U10 HD077680,
    U10 HD39005, U10 HD077844, U10HD055925, U10 HD27049, U54-HD29834 and R24-HD102061. The project also was supported by the NIH's National
    Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, grants UL1 TR002014 and UL1 TR001863. Nutrisystem provided discounted coupons, and Fitbit provided discounted Fitbits for activity monitoring.


    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
    University_of_Virginia_Health_System. Note: Content may be edited for
    style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Richard S. Legro, Karl R. Hansen, Michael P. Diamond, Anne
    Z. Steiner,
    Christos Coutifaris, Marcelle I. Cedars, Kathleen M. Hoeger, Rebecca
    Usadi, Erica B. Johnstone, Daniel J. Haisenleder, Robert A. Wild,
    Kurt T.

    Barnhart, Jennifer Mersereau, J. C. Trussell, Stephen A. Krawetz,
    Penny M. Kris-Etherton, David B. Sarwer, Nanette Santoro, Esther
    Eisenberg, Hao Huang, Heping Zhang. Effects of preconception
    lifestyle intervention in infertile women with obesity: The
    FIT-PLESE randomized controlled trial.

    PLOS Medicine, 2022; 19 (1): e1003883 DOI:
    10.1371/journal.pmed.1003883 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220314105639.htm

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