Diet of junk food doubles infertility risk for women

LONDON: Women who regularly tuck into takeaways and junk food take longer to fall pregnant than those who eat lots of fruit, says a study.

Those who ate fast food four times a week or more took nearly a month longer to conceive and were twice as likely to be infertile than those who rarely ate it.

And would-be moms who ate fruit three times a day or more in the month up to conception became pregnant more quickly than those who did not.

The study found that while fruit and fast foods affected the time taken to conceive, green vegetables and fish did not. Lead author Professor Claire Roberts, of the University of Adelaide, said the results showed how a good quality diet that included fruit and minimised fast-food improved fertility and reduced the time it took to get pregnant. Researchers studied the diet history of 5 598 pregnant women in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Of these, 39% had become pregnant within a month and 8% took longer than a year, which is officially classed as infertile. The study took into account other risks affecting fertility, such as body weight, smoking and alcohol consumption.

With more women cutting back on fruit in low-sugar diets, dietitian Melanie McGrice, of St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, warned: “I’m seeing more and more women who incorrectly think they should be avoiding fruit to help them conceive.

“This study demonstrates that fruit consumption is not only safe, but beneficial.” – Daily Mail