Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Dec;207(6):509.e1-509.e10.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2012.08.020. Epub 2012 Aug 16.

Infertility patients' knowledge of the effects of obesity on reproductive health outcomes

Eden R Cardozo  1 , Lisa M Neff, Maureen E Brocks, Geraldine E Ekpo, Tanaka J Dune, Randall B Barnes, Erica E Marsh
Affiliations

Infertility patients' knowledge of the effects of obesity on reproductive health outcomes

Eden R Cardozo et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the infertility patient knowledge of reproductive outcomes affected by obesity.

Study design: This was a prospective survey study of 150 female infertility patients in an academic medical center. Subjects were administered the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-Short Form and a questionnaire on the health risks of obesity, and investigators obtained height and weight measurements.

Results: Subjects' age ranged from 21 to 45 years (mean 34.8 ± 4.94 SD) and body mass index ranged from 17.9 to 62.9 kg/m(2) (mean 26.5 ± 7.54 SD). The following percentages of women were aware that obesity increases the risk of infertility (82.7%), irregular periods (70.0%), miscarriage (60.7%), cesarean section (48.7%), breast cancer (38.7%), birth defects (29.3%), stillbirth (22.7%), and endometrial cancer (20.7%).

Conclusion: Among women with infertility, there is limited knowledge of reproductive outcomes affected by obesity. Public education is needed to increase awareness. Women undergoing fertility treatment are motivated for reproductive success and may be uniquely receptive to obesity education and weight loss intervention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1. Participant knowledge of BMI
A, Percentage of participants who selected each answer choice to the question, “What percentage of women the United States do you think weigh more than they should?” B, Percentage of participants who had heard of term BMI, thought they knew the irown BMI, and accurately knew their own BMI. C, Percentage of participants who selected each answer choice to the question, “Which BMI range is considered ideal”
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2. Correlation between self-reported and actual height and weight (n = 150)
A, Self-reported vs actual weight (kilograms). B, Self-reported vs actual height (centimeters).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Percentage of participants who indicated they are aware that obesity increases risk of specific health outcomes (n = 150)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization [Feb. 1, 2012];Obesity and overweight. Fact sheet no. 311. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/.
    1. World Health Organization [Feb. 1, 2012];Global Database on Body Mass Index. BMI classification. Available at: www.who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_3.html.
    1. Finkelstein EA, Trogdon JG, Cohen JW, Dietz W. Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: payer-and service-specific estimates. Health Aff (Millwood) 2009;28:w822–31. - PubMed
    1. Wang YC, McPherson K, Marsh T, Gort-maker SL, Brown M. Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK. Lancet. 2011;378:815–25. - PubMed
    1. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Ogden CL, Curtin LR. Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999-2008. JAMA. 2010;303:235–41. - PubMed

Publication types