European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Infertility is defined by the World Health Organization as the failure to conceive following 12
months of unprotected intercourse (1,2). In couples seeking treatment, the male factor
contributes approximately 30% (3). Male infertility continues to be neglected issue.
Gynecologists mostly concentrate on female partners whereas surgeons look for presence of
varicocele or hydrocele. Little attention has been given to male infertility.
Obesity is associated with significant disturbances in the hormonal milieu that can affect the
reproductive system(4,5), Increased weight may coincide with conditions like diabetes,
hypertension and altered sex-hormonal status, which is well documented with respect to
female studies (6).
It is hypothesized that obesity associated with increased insulin resistance may disturb the
hormonal and metabolic regulation of spermatogenesis resulting in subnormal semen
parameters. Obesity per se may also be responsible for increased oxidative stress in the local
testicular environment resulting in damage to the developing spermatozoa. There have been
some studies in recent years pointing to an increased risk of abnormal semen parameters
among overweight men, and a higher likelihood of sub-fertility among couples in whom the
husband is obese.
As obesity is defined in terms of body mass index (BMI) and central obesity is measured by
waist circumference (WC), the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship
between body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference with semen parameters among
male partners of infertile couples