14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists have recently made a discovery that could have significant consequences for the 33 percent of the American population that is considered obese. They learned that mothers who are obese are more likely than their peers to have children that are infertile, or whose fertility is much lower than normal.
The discovery was made using mouse models, but investigators say the animals were selected precisely because they can be compared to the human physiology in this regard. Obese female mice were found to be producing lower levels of the hormone ghrelin.
These diminished levels of the chemical caused a host of defects to occur during the implantation of their eggs in the uterine wall. The generation of mice that spawned from these mothers was significantly less fertile than the one born from healthy mothers.
In a new scientific paper, experts say that lower ghrelin levels have some time ago been identified in human obese women as well. The work has been accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal Endocrinology, which is published by The Endocrine Society.
“While our study involved mice, we believe our findings have significant implications for women,” explains the lead author of the study, Hugh Taylor, MD. He is based at the Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut.
“Our results suggest that low ghrelin levels could program the development of the uterus in the female children of obese women. These women may then be less fertile as adults,” the expert goes on to say.
The new research has been entitled “Maternal Ghrelin Deficiency Compromises Reproduction in Female Progeny through Altered Uterine Developmental Programming,” and will appear in April.
Past studies have demonstrated that ghrelin is involved in controlling the energy balance of the human body, as well as its metabolism. Another function is to control the reproductive function of both animals and humans.
What is unclear at this point is the role that this particular hormone plays in the reproductive tract.
In the new experiments, Yale experts compared the fertility of female mice born from obese mothers with the fertility of females born from healthy mothers. On average, mice in the first group were significantly less fertile than their peers.
They also produced smaller litters of little baby mice, the team reports. Researchers say that more investigation is needed in order to understand how ghrelin acts on the reproductive tract, Science Blog reports.