According to a new study, father's obesity negatively impacts sperm, resulting in smaller fetuses, poor pregnancy success and reduced placental development.
While health risks surrounding obesity and pregnancy have largely been centred on overweight mothers, researchers from the University of Melbourne are putting the onus on men to shape up.
"A lot of men don't understand what contribution they're having, but they need to be healthy before conceiving. Sperm needs to be match fit for the games of life and creating life is the biggest thing that we can do," researcher David Gardner said.
The study used in vitro fertilisation (IVF) on animals to determine the effects of paternal obesity on embryo implantation into the womb and fetal development.
The researchers generated embryos from both normal weight and obese male mice - the latter had been fed the equivalent of a western fast food diet for ten weeks.
"We found that development was delayed in the fetuses produced from obese fathers. The rate of embryo implantation into the womb and fetal development decreased in these animals by up to 15 per cent," another researcher Natalie Binder said.
"Furthermore, placental weight and development was significantly less for embryos derived from the sperm of obese males. These findings indicate that paternal obesity not only negatively affects embryo development, but also impacts on the successful implantation into the womb," she said in a statement.
"This then results in a small placenta which impairs fetal growth and development with long term consequences for the health of the offspring," Binder added.
The study will be presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Endocrine Society of Australia and the Society for Reproductive Biology 2012.
