SANTOS, Emma Lyn S.

Professor Floraine Saldana

BSN 2-F 04/29/2021

FINAL REQUIREMENT FOR OB LEC

1.) What is the relevance of exercise in fertility and/or infertility? Expound your answers based on
scientific evidences. Include references.

For Women:

Over the course of several years, one study of over 17,000 women with no history of infertility
was assessed to determine the time to pregnancy. Women who adopted five or more low-risk lifestyle
factors (such as consuming healthy meals and having at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day)
had a 69% lowered risk of ovulatory disorder infertility, according to the researchers. This study indicates
that ovulatory infertility could be avoidable by a healthy diet and by doing moderate intensity exercise.
Moderate intensity exercise means “brisk walking” or any other activities that require moderate effort
and speed your heart rate and breathing but don’t make you out of breath.

Furthermore, women with PCOS and irregular cycles who lose 5-10% of their body weight by
doing an exercise could see an improvement in their ovulation (since 40-80 percent of people with PCOS
have higher body-fat percentages, which may also contribute to irregular or absent ovulation).

Obesity has also been linked to infertility, with several reports indicating that obese women are
more likely to have pregnancy issues and, if they do become pregnant, have a higher risk of miscarriage
and childbirth complications. As a result, a recommended cardio routine exercise and a balanced diet in
their strength-training program is an important component of their weight loss program.

However, they also have concluded that vigorous exercise (defined as >5 hours of high intensity
exercise per week) may only be beneficial in women with high body-fat percentage and this may actually
reduce chances of getting pregnant for other women with a normal BMI. One study found that ovulatory
women who participated in intense physical activity for more than 60 minutes per day were at a higher
risk of ovulatory dysfunction (due to a higher overall energy drain and dysregulation of leptin and cortisol
which are the two hormones that control appetite and stress response), but an exercise for 30-60 minutes
per day was associated with a lower incidence of anovulation.

For Men:

According to studies, men who had reported to do biking/cycling for more than five hours per week was
found to have lower sperm concentration and total motile sperm. While this effect on sperm has been
shown in other studies, too, the exact mechanism is unknown — but possible theories may be related to
increased core scrotal temperature or mechanical trauma (such as compression).

In general, exercise in a moderate intensity could be beneficial for both men and women who is trying to
conceive a baby. According to studies, it is much more effective if this moderate exercise is done in
combination with a healthy balanced diet and an advise to their attending physician to make sure that
this type of exercise is just right for them.
SANTOS, Emma Lyn S. Professor Floraine Saldana
BSN 2-F 04/29/2021

REFERENCES

Physical activity and fertility in women: The North-Trøndelag Health Study. ResearchGate.
(n.d.).https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26867827_Physical_activity_and_fertility_
in_women_The_North-Trondelag_Health_Study.

Waehner, P. (n.d.). How Exercise Affects a Woman's Fertility. Verywell Fit.

https://www.verywellfit.com/how-exercise-can-help-or-hurt-fertility-1230911.

Zore, D. T. (2020, December 8). What the research says about exercise, fertility, and pregnancy.
Modern Fertility Blog. https://modernfertility.com/blog/exercise-fertility-pregnancy/.