|
|
|
|
How to change your lifestyle to
become pregnant
5 November, 2007
A healthy lifestyle that combines a
balanced diet and regular exercise can
reduce the relative risk of
infertility connected with ovulatory
disorders.
A recent research has shown that
infertility in women can be tackled to
a great extent with the right
lifestyle changes.
The study, conducted by researchers at
the Harvard School of Public Health,
the United States, has been published
in the November 1, 2007, issue of the
journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
It was found that females who exercise
and take vitamins regularly as well as
eat fewer saturated fats, more
full-fat dairy products, and less meat
showed fewer ovulation problems.
About 18% to 30% of all cases of
infertility are blamed on the failure
to ovulate. Every one in six couples
is considered to be affected by
infertility.
The study by researchers at the
Harvard School of Public Health
spanned a period of 8 years and
tracked 17,544 married women trying to
become pregnant. These women had
participated in a large-scale study at
the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in
Boston, the United States.
The participants were awarded dietary
scores based on their diet obtained
from questionnaires the women filled
out. Women were given scores on
whether they took more vegetable
protein or meat protein,
monounsaturated fats or trans-fats,
high-fat dairy products or low-fat
dairy products, and multi-vitamins.
Apart from this, weightage was given
to other information such as
regularity of exercise and body mass
index (BMI.)
It was found that those women who ate
the lowest fat diets with more plant
than animal protein, consumed full-fat
dairy products, took iron supplements
and ate low-glycolic carbohydrates
faced the lowest risks of adulatory
disorders.
The study published in the journal
Obstetrics & Gynecology concluded, “A
combination of five or more low-risk
lifestyle factors, including diet,
weight control and physical activity,
was associated with a 69% lower risk
of ovulatory infertility.”
According to Jorge Chavarro, a
research fellow in the department of
nutrition at the Harvard School of
Public Health, as women started
following more of
these recommendations, their risk of
infertility dropped substantially for
every one of the dietary and lifestyle
strategies undertaken. “In fact, we
found
a six-fold difference in ovulatory
infertility risk between women
following five or more low-risk
dietary and lifestyle habits and those
following none.”
Women who had a BMI of between 25 and
29.9 – that is, overweight – had a
higher rate of infertility than those
with a healthy weight. Obese women
with a BMI of over 30 had more than a
two-fold risk, the study revealed.
The researchers stressed that a
healthy diet as well as
supplementation of vitamins regulated
the body’s level of micro-nutrients
and maintained its sensitivity to
insulin, thus showing a better
response to sugars in the bloodstream.
|
|
|
