Vigorous Exercise May Delay Pregnancy; But Not for Overweight, Obese
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Hemera/Thinkstock(BOSTON) — Fertility experts say exercise is important, buy maybe not how you’d expect. Women trying to get pregnant should ease up on working out, new study findings published in the journal Fertility and Sterility say.
The study, authored by Lauren Wise, an associate professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, was based on a sampling of more than 3,600 Danish women age 18 to 40 who were trying to conceive. Researchers found that healthy women who do such high-intensity exercise as running, cycling, swimming and aerobics may be cutting down the odds of conception by overworking the body and preventing ovulation.
One exception, however, was found among overweight and obese women. High-intensity exercise was associated with a shorter time to pregnancy for this group.
Such moderate exercise as walking and golfing was associated with shorter time-to-pregnancy, suggesting that all women seeking pregnancy may benefit from some exercise.
Though reseachers found no direct causal relationship between longer conception periods and intense exercise, they controlled factors which could justify the long delay to getting pregnant, such as caffeine or alcohol consumption, smoking habits, frequency of intercourse or other childbirths.
The message, Wise says, is if you’re having trouble conceiving, you might try to lighten up on the heavy workouts and switch to lighter activity.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio