6th April 2015 | by MFC Team
Hope for reversing damaging effect of obesity on women’s eggs
Obesity has been found to damage women’s egg cells – making it difficult for them to conceive. There is also a greater likelihood that babies born to women who are overweight will be obese. However, a new treatment may offer a way to reverse the damage of obesity on a woman’s eggs, and on her children’s future health.
Researchers from the University of Adelaide claim that using an experimental diabetes drug, they were able to reverse egg damage, restore egg quality, and prevent any damage being passed onto the fetus by restoring mitochondrial DNA to levels equivalent to that of a healthy, average weight mother.
Associate Professor Rebecca Robker, a researcher involved in the study, says that this finding could help obese women conceive by restoring “natural” fertility. However, she warns:
“Importantly, this work further highlights that a women’s nutritional state prior to getting pregnant matters greatly. Women are urged to eat healthy diets to optimise their chances for a healthy conception and to reduce the potential impact on their child’s future health.”
Read more about the effects of weight on fertility here, here, and here.
Read more here.
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