Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bray, G. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Bray, G. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction, Vol. 12, No. suppl_1, pp. 26-32, 1997
© 1997 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Obesity and reproduction

George A. Bray

Pennington Biomedical Research Center 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA

Obesity produces a variety of alterations in the reproductive system and, similarly, manipulations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis produce changes in food intake, body weight and fat distribution. In men, the primary effects of obesity are a weight related reduction testosterone and, with massive overweight, reduction in free testosterone. In females, the weight-related development of menarche leads to earlier menarche in obese girls than in normal weight girls. One explanation for the relationship of fatness to menarche may be the protein (leptin) which is defective in the obese (oblob) mouse. Leptin is secreted by adipose tissue in proportion to the quantity of fat and may serve as a signal to the hypothalamus that fat stores are adequate to nourish a conceptus to term. In women, parity affects obesity and obesity in turn affects the regularity of the menstrual cycle. In many experimental animals with obesity, particularly the genetic forms obesity, there is complete infertility in the females and marked impairment of reproductive function in the males. In animals with hypothalamic lesions, there is a gender effect on the magnitude of weight gain associated with the sexually dimorphic regions in the medial preoptic area. Castration with removal oestrogen is followed by obesity in female animals and this can be prevented, as can most forms of obesity, by adrenalectomy. The inhibitory effects of oestrogen on food intake may result from suppression of neuropeptide-or galanin peptidergic systems in the arcuate nucleus or medial preoptic area.

Key words: body fat/galanin/neuropeptide Y/neurotransmitters/steroids


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JAMAHome page
M. Nilsson, R. Johnsen, W. Ye, K. Hveem, and J. Lagergren
Obesity and Estrogen as Risk Factors for Gastroesophageal Reflux Symptoms
JAMA, July 2, 2003; 290(1): 66 - 72.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am J EpidemiolHome page
F. Lubin, A. Chetrit, L. S. Freedman, E. Alfandary, Y. Fishler, H. Nitzan, A. Zultan, and B. Modan
Body Mass Index at Age 18 Years and during Adult Life and Ovarian Cancer Risk
Am. J. Epidemiol., January 15, 2003; 157(2): 113 - 120.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.