Source: China Daily

03-17-2009 13:38

Special Report:   Tech Max

NEW YORK – Obese women have alterations in the environment around the ovary before they ovulate that appear to play a role in the well-documented association between obesity and reduced fertility, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Obese women have alterations in the environment around the ovary before they ovulate that appear to play a role in the well-documented association between obesity and reduced fertility
Obese women have alterations in the environment
around the ovary before they ovulate that appear
to play a role in the well-documented association
between obesity and reduced fertility.(File photo)

"Characteristics of eggs are influenced by the environment in which they develop within the ovary," lead author Dr. Rebecca Robker, from Adelaide University, Australia, said in a statement.

"Our study found that obese women have abnormally high levels of fats and inflammation in the fluid surrounding their eggs, which can impact an egg's developmental potential."