The reason why fertility rates are falling are many and varied. It could be that there are physical conditions that the couple face, environmental conditions or the reluctance to bring additional children into the world, the latter viewpoint being espoused by Prince Harry and Megan.
There
is an additional reason that follows on from the article written by Emma
Friere, ‘An Overlooked Reason Fertility Rates May
Be Falling,’ where she
rightly points to the increase in wealth reducing people’s desire for any or
more children. It is generally true that, as nations are getting richer, there is an increase
in obesity and being overweight, although there are some instances of poorer
countries also experiencing obesity..
The
World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. It calculated
that, in 2016, there were over 1.9 billion people (that is 18 years and over)
were overweight. Within this statistic, more than 650 million adults were
obese.
These
figures are interpreted to be 39 per cent of adults (39 per cent of men and 40
per cent of women) were overweight and 13 per cent of all adults (11 per cent
of men and 15 per cent of women) globally were obese.
For
example, it has been estimated by the Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention in the United Stated that one in three citizens eat fast food on a
daily basis. Interestingly, those on higher incomes ate more takeaway than
those on a lower income.
The
impact of obesity on fertility is that the man’s sperm is affected adversely and so make it increasingly more
difficult for couples to conceive. Obesity was associated with lower volume of
semen, sperm count, concentration and motility, as well as increasing the risks
for sperm defects.
Men
who are overweight are 11 per cent more likely to have a low sperm count and 30
per cent are more likely to have no sperm in their ejaculation compared to men
who were considered to be of a healthy weight.
Obese
men were 42 per cent to have a low sperm count compared to those men who were
of a healthy weight and 81 per cent more likely to produce no sperm.
It
has been assessed that a man’s sperm has been irrevocably
damaged by the time that they reach the age of 18 years, due to the culture of
fast food and ready meals.
There
is also a salutary reminder to women of a certain age, as scholars
tell us that they were pre-pregnant if they were not so already. However, the
lifestyle choices belie that (together smoking) many women were unprepared to
conceive as they drank too much alcohol, were obese or overweight, and ate
insufficient amounts of fruit and vegetables. The advice is that women should
think about their lifestyle many years before they think about having a baby,
not just about the folic acid in their breakfast cereal.
It
does not get any better for the next generation as it has been suggested that it will be the first generation to
die before their parents since the fatalities of World War One, due to the
effects of obesity on our children. The infertility problems experienced by
their parents caused by overeating will be perpetuated by their offspring,
which will result in further reduction in the population.
Of
the many factors involved in a decreasing population, this area of obesity and
being overweight is one that is controllable and avoidable.
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