Study: Moderate exercise boosts pregnancy odds
Source: Agencies |
April 7, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
MODERATE exercise is tied to greater success among women trying to get pregnant, but those who work out vigorously take longer to conceive, an international study has found.
"This study is the first to find that the effect of physical activity on fertility varied by body mass index," said lead author Lauren Wise, a reproductive epidemiologist at Boston University. Body mass index is a ratio of height to weight.
Researchers in the US and Denmark followed more than 3,500 Danish women aged 18 to 40 who were trying to conceive over the course of a year for the study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
All reported being in a stable relationship with a male partner and were not receiving fertility treatment. Participants estimated the number of hours per week they exercised in the past year, as well as the intensity of their workouts. Over the course of the study, nearly 70 percent of all women became pregnant.
The researchers found that moderate exercise, such as walking, cycling or gardening, was associated with getting pregnant more quickly for all women, regardless of weight.
Women who spent more than five hours per week doing moderate exercise were 18 percent more likely to become pregnant during any given menstrual cycle than women who performed moderate exercise for less than an hour each week.
However, normal-weight and very lean women who reported high levels of vigorous exercise, such as running or aerobics, took longer to get pregnant. Those who exercised vigorously at least five hours a week had a 32 percent lower chance of becoming pregnant during a given cycle than women who did not exercise vigorously at all.
There was no association between vigorous exercise and the time it took overweight or obese women (with a BMI over 25) to become pregnant.
The results also don't mean exercise was responsible. Women who took longer to conceive could also have modified their exercise patterns, the researchers noted, making the relationship the opposite of what it appeared.
"This study is the first to find that the effect of physical activity on fertility varied by body mass index," said lead author Lauren Wise, a reproductive epidemiologist at Boston University. Body mass index is a ratio of height to weight.
Researchers in the US and Denmark followed more than 3,500 Danish women aged 18 to 40 who were trying to conceive over the course of a year for the study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
All reported being in a stable relationship with a male partner and were not receiving fertility treatment. Participants estimated the number of hours per week they exercised in the past year, as well as the intensity of their workouts. Over the course of the study, nearly 70 percent of all women became pregnant.
The researchers found that moderate exercise, such as walking, cycling or gardening, was associated with getting pregnant more quickly for all women, regardless of weight.
Women who spent more than five hours per week doing moderate exercise were 18 percent more likely to become pregnant during any given menstrual cycle than women who performed moderate exercise for less than an hour each week.
However, normal-weight and very lean women who reported high levels of vigorous exercise, such as running or aerobics, took longer to get pregnant. Those who exercised vigorously at least five hours a week had a 32 percent lower chance of becoming pregnant during a given cycle than women who did not exercise vigorously at all.
There was no association between vigorous exercise and the time it took overweight or obese women (with a BMI over 25) to become pregnant.
The results also don't mean exercise was responsible. Women who took longer to conceive could also have modified their exercise patterns, the researchers noted, making the relationship the opposite of what it appeared.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
