We've always known fertility is discriminatory when it comes to age, and whilst men can carry on fathering children when they're collecting their pensions, most women stop being fertile in their early forties. We've tended to assume that other factors, like being overweight, affect both sexes in the same way, but new research from the States suggests this may not be the case.
Researchers in New York looked at sperm samples from 292 men who had an average body mass index of 28, which is in the definitely overweight category. They found that weight didn't make any difference when it came to sperm quantity or quality. Although being overweight was linked to lower testosterone levels, this only seemed to have an effect when men were enormous rather than just on the big side. The results of the research are being presented at the annual conference of the US Endocrine Society this week.
Heartening news for any larger men out there - but perhaps not so cheery for larger women. However, doctors warn that men shouldn't use this as an excuse not to lose weight if they need to, as being overweight may have other health implications.
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