Physical Activity and Exercise

Intervention: #8 Physical Activity and Exercise
 
Fact Check

  • Engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every day.
  • Overweight or obese adults should perform 35 to 45 minutes per day.

Types of Movement


  • Physical activity is defined as any body movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.
  • Exercise is a subset of physical activity that is planned, repetitive, and structured and usually has a goal to maintain or improve at least one component of physical fitness.
  • Sedentary behaviour comprises time spent in periods of little or no movement while awake (eg. sitting).

Exercise and Fertility

  • Different types of physical activity (eg. recreational, household, child or adult care, transportation, work) or exercise (eg. aerobic, strengthening, low impact) may be differentially associated with infertility.
  • Likewise, the intensity of physical activity (eg. light, moderate, vigorous) may also be important.

What is Too Much?

  • Subfertility is associated with vigorous (exercising daily or to exhaustion) but not with lower intensity or lower frequency exercise.
  • Increased risk of infertility in women who exercised vigorously (defined as aerobic activities with estimated energy requirements of 6 kcal/min) for at least 60 min per day.
  • Strenuous exercise increases risk of anovulatory infertility and sperm quality.
  • High intensity exercise regimens appear to affect fertility treatment outcomes

What is Just Right?

  • Vigorous exercise of 30-60 min/day was associated with reduced risk.
  • Moderate exercise decreases the risk of miscarriage and increases the chance of having a baby among women who undergo ART.
  • A minimum of one hour exercise three times a week improved rates of implantation and pregnancy and reduced the risk of miscarriage in 436 women undergoing ICSI.
  • Low to moderate exercise was also associated with increased implantation and live birth rates in 131 women undergoing assisted reproduction techniques.

    • To try...

      • 30 minutes walks
      • Yoga
      • Dancing
      • Leisure bike riding
      • Aerobics
      • Jogging
      • Swimming

      To Avoid...

      • Hot yoga
      • Boot-camp training
      • Extreme running
      • Any type of vigorous or strenuous training
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