Post subject: Another reason why you want to have healthy weight

Researchers report that being either too thin or too heavy may lower a man's sperm count, in some cases enough to impair fertility. In the study of nearly 1,600 young Danish men, the investigators found that those with either a low or high body mass index (BMI) had differences in reproductive hormones, as well as lower sperm counts than normal-weight men. So, we have yet another reason why most of us don't want to be over-weight (or under-weight). I say "most of us" because I think some men do not wish to have any child.

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Is this just plain data or there is some cause and effect?

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Well, the article is available now, and it appears that there is a correlation between weight and hormones:

... the men's testosterone levels decreased as BMI increased, as did certain other reproductive hormones. According to Jensen's team, it may be such hormonal effects of a high BMI that explain the poorer semen quality they found in overweight men.


I don't know how BMI affects men's testosterone levels, but this itself seems to be some health problem to me.

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What's BMI? I know that it has to do with your weight, but what does it indicate specifically?

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Body mass index

The body mass index (BMI) is a calculated number used to determine healthy weight ranges for humans and has been used to define the medical standard for obesity measurement in several countries since the early 1980s. It is equal to the weight in kilograms, divided by the square of the height in meters. (In U.S. customary units, it is 703.07 times the weight in pounds, divided by the square of the height in inches.)

The exact index values used to determine weight categories vary from authority to authority, but in general a BMI less than 18.5 is underweight and may indicate malnutrition, an eating disorder, or other health problem, while a BMI greater than 25 is overweight and above 30 is considered obese. These range boundaries apply to adults over 20 years of age.

Since BMI does not take into account a person's body fat percentage, it is possible to have an above average body weight and BMI, but not be obese. A bodybuilder, for example, can have a BMI above 30 because of a high percentage of muscle mass. If they also had a low percentage of body fat, they would not need to lose weight to be healthy.

The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1994 indicates that 59% of American men and 49% of women have BMIs over 25. Extreme obesity — a BMI of 40 or more — was found in 2% of the men and 4% of the women.

Body mass index calculations are not just for adults though, and they can be used to identify the growing number of overweight children. BMI for kids aged 2 to 20 years is calculated just like it is for adults, but it is interpreted differently. Instead of set cutoff numbers for being underweight and overweight, like for adults, it is their BMI percentile that is important.

For children, a BMI that is less than the 5th percentile is considered underweight and above the 95th percentile is overweight. And children with a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile are considered to be at risk of becoming overweight.

Recommended BMI Chart

* Underweight - BMI less than 20
* Ideal - BMI 20-25
* Overweight - BMI 25-30
* Obese - BMI more than 30
* Extremely obese - BMI more than 40

The document was originally published at Wikipedia and the document is licensed under GNU Free Document License. If you'd like to find out more about obesity, you might be interested in visiting this page in Wikipedia.

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I see this study is Danish.

It seems odd, however, that in underdeveloped countries where a high percentage of the population is malnourished, there is usually an overpopulation crisis!

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Well, the study points out that weight problem can affect sexual functions such as your sperm volume, BUT it does not say that sexual functions are effected to such an extent that you cannot bear your child.

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