Weight decrease improves live birth rates in obese women undergoing IVF: a pilot study

Abstract

Obese women have lower pregnancy rates than normal-weight women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment. We conducted a pilot study to evaluate whether a 12-week diet and exercise intervention before an IVF cycle would influence pregnancy rates in obese women. Forty-one patients were enrolled in this study. They were randomly allocated to two groups: an intervention group (n = 21), who underwent an individualized diet and physical exercise programme supervised by a dietician, and a control group (n = 20), who started IVF with no previous intervention. The primary outcome was clinical pregnancy rate after a single treatment cycle. Mean weight loss in the study group after the intervention was 5.4 kg (range 1.1-14.6 kg). The study and control groups had similar total FSH consumption, number of oocytes and embryos obtained, and number and quality of embryos transferred. There was a non-significant trend towards a higher clinical pregnancy rate after fresh embryo transfer (66.7% versus 41.2%). The intervention group had a significantly higher cumulative live birth rate (61.9% versus 30%, P = 0.045) (odds ratio for intervention group, 3.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 13.9) The data suggest that weight loss resulted in a significantly increased cumulative live birth rate.

Liraglutide increases IVF pregnancy rates in obese PCOS women with poor response to first-line reproductive treatments: a pilot randomized study

“…Weight loss prior to either spontaneous conception or conception by IVF in obese women is recommended by international guidelines (15), but the data on optimal magnitude and timing are limited. Until now, short-term weight reduction directly before IVF has been assessed in a few prospective randomized controlled studies only (7,8,9,10,31). The results about reproductive outcomes of IVF are inconclusive.…”

“…Weight loss prior to IVF procedures has been associated with significantly improved pregnancy rates (PR) and live birth rates (7,8,9,10). Furthermore, a decreased number of IVF cycles required to achieve a pregnancy has also been reported after weight loss interventions (11).…”

The influence of age, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and anti-Mullerian hormone level on clinical pregnancy rates in ART

“…According to our results, BMI did have an influence on clinical pregnancy rates and it was not affected by age. Espinos et al [11] suggested that weight loss results in a significantly increased cumulative live birth rate. However, not all studies find significant correlation between BMI and clinical pregnancy rate, recommending that BMI should not be a basis for IVF treatment denial [12].…”

Reproductive Consequences of Obesity

“…There are a group of studies that suggest improved ovulatory frequency, pregnancy rates, and cost per pregnancy achieved in assisted reproduction [32,62]. One randomized controlled trial demonstrated that a 12-week diet and exercise program resulted in a mean weight loss of 5.4 kg in the intervention group, a trend toward a higher clinical pregnancy rate and a significant difference in live birth rates [63]. A secondary analysis of two parallel randomized controlled trials in obese PCOS women also demonstrated that deferred ovulation induction treatment preceded by lifestyle modification resulted in significantly improved ovulation rates and live birth rates when compared with immediate treatment [62].…”