News | Is Exercise Suitable for Women Trying to Conceive? Scientists Explain Its Effects on Fertility
A study published in F&S Reports reviewed the available literature on how exercise affects fertility. Although the importance of a healthy lifestyle is widely recognized, guidance on how exercise intensity and frequency affect fertility remains unclear. The study aimed to offer more targeted recommendations for women trying to conceive and women with infertility.
Background
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine provides clear guidance on how diet, alcohol, and smoking affect fertility, but offers little specific direction on exercise intensity and volume. Because baseline health and infertility-related conditions vary among women trying to conceive, suitable recommendations on exercise intensity and frequency are essential for maintaining fertility-supportive activity.
Methods
Using keyword searches, the review covered experimental and observational studies involving healthy women trying to conceive, women receiving assisted reproductive treatment, and patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It included studies using objective fertility measures such as ovulation, pregnancy, progesterone, and estradiol levels, and excluded studies based only on indirect measures such as androgen levels or self-reported irregular menstrual cycles.
Results
High-intensity exercise may adversely affect fertility in healthy women trying to conceive, particularly luteal-phase progesterone and estradiol levels. Other studies, however, indicate that women can continue their usual exercise if they maintain adequate energy intake.
For patients with PCOS, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise did not significantly improve fertility, while strength training and high-intensity aerobic exercise improved fertility-related measures. Moderate exercise may still benefit reproductive health in PCOS even without noticeable weight loss.
Among women undergoing in vitro fertilization, exercise had no significant effect on fertility outcomes. Medication used during assisted reproduction can offset the adverse effects of strenuous exercise on the natural ovulatory cycle, so pregnancy rates are not affected.
Conclusion
Overall, high-intensity exercise may adversely affect fertility in healthy women trying to conceive, but exercise can continue when energy intake is sufficient. Patients with PCOS may benefit from high-intensity exercise, particularly alongside antiandrogen therapy. For women undergoing IVF, exercise before or after treatment showed no clear effect on fertility.
News | Is Exercise Suitable for Women Trying to Conceive? Scientists Explain Its Effects on Fertility
News | Is Exercise Suitable for Women Trying to Conceive? Scientists Explain Its Effects on Fertility
A study published in F&S Reports reviewed the available literature on how exercise affects fertility. Although the importance of a healthy lifestyle is widely recognized, guidance on how exercise intensity and frequency affect fertility remains unclear. The study aimed to offer more targeted recommendations for women trying to conceive and women with infertility.
Background
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine provides clear guidance on how diet, alcohol, and smoking affect fertility, but offers little specific direction on exercise intensity and volume. Because baseline health and infertility-related conditions vary among women trying to conceive, suitable recommendations on exercise intensity and frequency are essential for maintaining fertility-supportive activity.
Methods
Using keyword searches, the review covered experimental and observational studies involving healthy women trying to conceive, women receiving assisted reproductive treatment, and patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It included studies using objective fertility measures such as ovulation, pregnancy, progesterone, and estradiol levels, and excluded studies based only on indirect measures such as androgen levels or self-reported irregular menstrual cycles.
Results
High-intensity exercise may adversely affect fertility in healthy women trying to conceive, particularly luteal-phase progesterone and estradiol levels. Other studies, however, indicate that women can continue their usual exercise if they maintain adequate energy intake.
For patients with PCOS, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise did not significantly improve fertility, while strength training and high-intensity aerobic exercise improved fertility-related measures. Moderate exercise may still benefit reproductive health in PCOS even without noticeable weight loss.
Among women undergoing in vitro fertilization, exercise had no significant effect on fertility outcomes. Medication used during assisted reproduction can offset the adverse effects of strenuous exercise on the natural ovulatory cycle, so pregnancy rates are not affected.
Conclusion
Overall, high-intensity exercise may adversely affect fertility in healthy women trying to conceive, but exercise can continue when energy intake is sufficient. Patients with PCOS may benefit from high-intensity exercise, particularly alongside antiandrogen therapy. For women undergoing IVF, exercise before or after treatment showed no clear effect on fertility.
Source:
Collected online