For women considering infertility treatments, “simple lifestyle modification can help optimize fertility while assisting the physician and the health care team in achieving more successful reproductive outcomes,” says Acadia alumna and well-known Toronto-based Registered Dietitian and Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, Susie Langley (’61).

In a December 2014 article published in the peer-reviewed Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, Langley reported the findings of her research involving 300 female infertility patients in a private urban infertility clinic.

The purpose of Langley’s study was to design a screening form to assess female infertility patients for nutrition and other lifestyle factors that could negatively impact fertility prior to undergoing fertility treatments.

She found that 43 per cent of the women who completed her Nutrition Screening Form (NSF) had a body mass index (BMI) either lower than 20 or greater than 25 kg/m², known risks for infertility. In addition, a significant proportion of the women in the study self-reported other diet and nutrition-related lifestyle factors such as a history of dieting and eating disorders, vegetarian diets, low energy levels, poor exercise habits (insufficient or excessive), inadequate sleep, and a high perceived level of stress.

Findings are important

The findings are important because little work has been published in the area of nutrition and infertility.  Langley’s paper, “A Nutrition Screening Form for Female Infertility Patients,” sets the stage for further research and identifies weight, BMI, diet, exercise and stress as modifiable risk factors that may help promote optimum fertility.

“Early nutrition intervention should be a high priority as a non-pharmacological, cost-effective investment prior to infertility treatments,” Langley says. The average cost of “in-vitro fertilization” treatments is estimated at $30,000 or more. 

"A woman’s health before and during pregnancy will greatly influence the health of her baby,” says recent Acadia graduate Marina Fahmy (’14), who completed her Senior Seminar research on the potential for anti-inflammatory foods such as berries, garlic and dark leafy vegetables to help manage endometriosis, a condition also associated with infertility. 

By discussing lifestyle factors that may lead to infertility, and how improved dietary and other lifestyle habits help optimize fertility, Langley gives practical suggestions for promoting a healthy pregnancy while emphasizing the important link between nutrition and fertility to patients and health care professionals.