A surprising study found that men who succeeded in the ‘storm diet’ improved their sperm quality by more than 40% for 8 weeks.
According to the results of a joint study between New York University’s Langon Health Medical Center and the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, a high-intensity, low-calorie diet for 8 weeks resulted in a 41% increase in sperm count and a 49% increase in sperm density (concentration) in men who lost 16kg.
However, in order to maintain this state, the weight had to be maintained.
“It’s never easy to lose that much weight, but I was surprised that the quality of sperm improved so quickly,” said Bobby Nazari, an assistant professor at New York University in the research team. Sperm quality is assessed by sperm count and density (concentration).
The researchers asked 47 obese men between the ages of 20 and 63 to follow a low-calorie diet (800 calories per day) for 8 weeks. The researchers then randomly assigned them to one of four groups during a one-year maintenance phase.
The first group was given exercise, and the second group was given liraglutide, a diabetes drug often used to lose weight. The third group was instructed to take liraglutide along with exercise. Nothing was recommended for the fourth group.
The research team asked people who exercised to do moderate exercise, such as walking briskly for at least 150 minutes each week. They even offered exercise classes to motivate them.
The study found that the participants lost significantly more weight and improved sperm quality significantly following eight weeks of dieting.
After one year, regarding 50% of the participants practiced one or both of exercise and taking diabetes medication for weight loss. They all had already improved sperm quality.
However, in the case of men who returned to their original weight, sperm quality was not maintained.
It’s unclear whether the participants had a history of infertility, or whether weight loss improved fertility, according to the researchers. Too much adipose tissue can promote the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. Obese men also had lower testosterone levels than lean men.
The researchers said that if an obese man tried to conceive with a partner for six months and failed, it would be a good idea to get a semen test.
The results of this study (Sperm count is increased by diet-induced weight loss and maintained by exercise or GLP-1 analogue treatment: a randomized controlled trial) were published in the journal ≪Human Reproduction≫ and the American liver cancer media ‘Health Day’ introduced
By Kim Young-seop, staff reporter edwdkim@kormedi.com
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