Increasing childhood obesity has turn out to be a serious health concern over the past few many years. Other than the probabilities of developing health conditions similar to heart attacks, stroke, and diabetes, obesity in boys can even increase their risk of getting infertility in maturity, a latest study has found.

Being chubby during adolescence lowers testicular volume, which eventually predicts poorer sperm production in maturity, the researchers have found.

The findings of the study, which were published within the European Journal of Endocrinology, really useful weight reduction for obese boys to avoid infertility later in life.

Male infertility is defined as the lack of a male to make a fertile female pregnant after a minimum of 1 12 months of unprotected intercourse. Estimates show that male infertility contributes to about 20% of infertility in couples. Nevertheless, usually, the rationale for male infertility stays unclear.

Earlier research has found that there’s a decreasing trend in sperm count and an increasing trend within the cases of childhood obesity. Aspects similar to exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, a sedentary lifestyle, and eating disorders are attributed to the increasing cases of testicular hypotrophy.

“Although the prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing worldwide, the impact of obesity and associated metabolic disorders on testicular growth isn’t well-known,” Rossella Cannarella, certainly one of the authors of the research paper, said, Medical Express reported.

The research team conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 268 children and adolescents aged 2 to 18 years, who were receiving medical checkups for body weight control in an endocrine clinic in Sicily. They then evaluated the participants on testicular volume, age, body mass index, and insulin resistance.

When the researchers compared the testicular volume, they found that boys with normal weight had a 1.5 times higher volume in comparison with those that were chubby in peripubertal age.

The participants within the study, who had normal insulin levels, also showed testicular volume which was 1.5-2 times greater than those with insulin resistance, a condition marked by high insulin levels within the blood, often related to diabetes.

“On this study, we found that being chubby or obese was related to a lower peri-pubertal testicular volume. As well as, obesity-related comorbidities, similar to hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, have been found to influence testicular volume in pre- and post-puberty. Subsequently, we speculate that more careful control of body weight in childhood could represent a prevention strategy for maintaining testicular function later in life,” the researchers said.

A latest study recommends weight reduction for obese boys to avoid infertility later in life.
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Published by Medicaldaily.com