Research
Hormonal
Obesity induces chronic inflammation and oxidative stress in the reproductive tract, damaging sperm DNA and membrane lipids.
Fat tissue releases inflammatory chemicals that damage sperm DNA and membranes. Weight loss reduces this inflammation, protecting sperm integrity.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Adipokines produced by adipose tissue induce severe inflammation and oxidative stress in male reproductive tract, directly impairing testicular and epididymal tissues.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple studies cited in the review.
Source
Obesity, a serious etiologic factor for male subfertility in modern society
Yue Liu et al. · Reproduction · 2017
DOI 10.1530/rep-17-0161
narrative_reviewCited 249×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Male obesity causes male subfertility through hormonal imbalance (hypogonadism), chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and increased scrotal temperature, leading to reduced sperm quality and DNA damage.Good
- Obesity-induced hypogonadism reduces testosterone and FSH levels, disrupting the blood-testis barrier and spermatogenesis.Good
- Obesity increases scrotal temperature due to increased scrotal adiposity, which reduces sperm motility and concentration and increases DNA damage.Good
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