Abstract
Semen quality has certainly declined over the past few decades, possibly owing to modern lifestyle factors. In this sense, the role of overweight and obesity in the development of subfertility in males has generated a considerable amount of interest in recent years. However, there is no consensus on whether overweight or obesity impaired sperm quality. Thus, based on the ongoing debate about risk factors for subfertility associated with overweight and obesity in men, this study was designed to investigate the effect of overweight on sperm quality parameters and fertility success in randomized controlled trial in a rabbit model. Fourteen male rabbits were randomly assigned to a control group in which nutritional requirements were satisfied or a group fed to satiety from 12 to 32 weeks of age. At 24 weeks of age, semen samples were analysed weekly by conventional semen analysis for 8 weeks. In addition, during the trial female rabbits were artificially inseminated by each male to assess the fertility success and the number of offspring. Young males fed to satiety were associated with a significant increase in body weight (13.6% overweight) and perirenal fat thickness (5%). Male overweight presented a significant decrease in sperm concentration. There were no differences in the remaining sperm parameters. However, male overweight showed a clear and significant decrease in fertility success (control group, 64±8.9% versus fed to satiety group, 35±9.2%), but not in the number of offspring. Taken together, our findings provide new evidence on the loss of fertility induced by overweight in males.
Highlights
Semen quality has certainly declined over the past few decades, possibly due to modern lifestyle factors [1]
Males fed to satiety presented significantly increased daily feed intake of about +75% compared to restricted animals (227.5±6.87 g/day versus 130.0 g/day)
The same tendency was reported for perirenal fat thickness (PFT)
Summary
Semen quality has certainly declined over the past few decades, possibly due to modern lifestyle factors [1]. Around 49 million couples were infertile in 2010, and roughly 40–50% of infertility is caused by male factors [2,3,4]. According to the WHO, the worldwide prevalence of obesity in men has doubled between 1980 and 2008, increasing from 5% to 10% among men (BMI !30 kg/m2, [6]). In 2013, the proportion of men with overweight (body-mass index [BMI] of 25 kg/m2 or greater) has accelerated to an average of 36.9% [7]. There has been increasing research interest in studying the impact of BMI on sperm quality [5], partly because there are considerable numbers of overweight and obese
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