Infertility is one of the most common health issues, which has been on the rise among men and women in recent times. It is quite obvious that this is due to the modern lifestyle and how drastically our lives have changed in the last few years. With the advent of the 21st century and the meteoric advancement in technology, our lifestyle habits have turned upside down. Everything is faster, but we are busier than ever. Medical science has improved by leaps and bounds, but so have the number of diseases.
The 21st century has seen a sharp rise in what is termed ‘lifestyle diseases.’ Infertility; both males and females belongs to this category of lifestyle disease- ailments that get exacerbated by lifestyle habits.
Reproductive health is affected by multiple factors; both internal and external. In this article, we will discuss some of the lifestyle habits which cause infertility or adversely affect reproductive health over long periods of time.
Smoking
It is a well-known fact by now that smoking causes infertility. Tobacco consumption is an insidious enemy of reproductive health in both women and men. Experts have proved that smoking is directly responsible for lower sperm count, altered motility, and hormonal imbalance among men. In Women, Smoking leads to early menopause and causes disruptions in menstrual cycles. Even passive smoking can lead to increased infertility.
Despite many campaigns around the world, smoking habit has been on the rise around the world; especially among young people. In fact, India has one of the highest populations in the world who smoke regularly which is consequently making the number of infertility cases rise in our country.
Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol consumption causes similar problems as smoking, like decreased sperm count and volume in men and irregular ovulation in women. It also causes hormonal imbalance in both. According to experts even mild to moderate alcohol use can have an adverse effect on testosterone levels in the human body leading to adverse effects.
Weight factor
One of the biggest changes which modern lifestyle has caused is to our diets. In recent years there has been a lot of scrutiny on what we eat and how we eat it, as we have become aware that abnormal weight is the cause of most health problems in the world.
This is true for reproductive health as well. Being overweight and underweight can both lead to fertility issues.
While too much fat can harm the hormonal balance of the reproductive cycle is too much underweight makes the reproductive system shut down completely and render a person unable to conceive. Weight is also a crucial factor behind the increasing number of PCOs and PCOD patients.
It is very important to maintain an optimum weight to ensure reproductive health.
Pollution and Environmental Issues
It has been scientifically proven that modern environmental problems like high temperatures, chemicals, radiation, or too heavy electromagnetic or microwave emissions reduce fertility in both men and women.
It is not just air or industrial pollution which is responsible for infertility problems but also various harmful chemicals which enter our bodies through food and water.
Stress
It is an undeniable fact that the modern lifestyle leads to high stress, especially among young professionals. The population dealing with the most stress related to jobs, or the rat race, are those at the prime of reproductive age.
Stress leads to many fertility problems ranging from hormonal imbalance to lower sperm count to PCOS.
Social Changes
While modern lifestyle has led to many positive changes with regard to social constructs like the elimination of child marriage and greater opportunities for women to have a career and freedom, on the other hand, it has led to a reversal in conditions that are important for reproductive health. Most women nowadays chose to opt for late conception. They juggle both home and professional life leading to a lot of stress which increases the chances of infertility and related ailments.
Thus, we concur that people, especially young professionals need to be very aware and lead a balanced and healthy lifestyle to protect their reproductive health and fertility.
Although, thanks to modern medical innovations, infertility and most of the ailments associated with it are fully treatable under the right care and guidance.
CIFAR, Gurugram; under the able and experienced leadership of Dr. Puneet Rana Arora strives to revolutionize infertility treatment in India. Under the care of the learned staff of CIFAR, you not only get the best and most modernistic treatments for fertility problems but also the right guidance and counseling. Dr. Puneet’s motto is to extend holistic and affordable fertility care for all under the banner of CIFAR.