ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Clinical Nutrition
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1642836
This article is part of the Research TopicBioimpedance Analysis: Lifelong Health, Disease, and Sport ApplicationsView all 13 articles
Does Abnormal Weight Affect Sperm Quality? A Case-Control Study Based on Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangdong Provincial Reproductive Science Institute (Guangdong Provincial Fertility Hospital), Human Sperm Bank of Guangdong Province,, Guangzhou, China
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Introduction: Weight gain can lead to metabolic, circulatory, and systemic changes.Obesity has been confirmed to induce various physical and mental illnesses. The relationship between abnormal weight and male fertility has become a research focus, although the findings regarding their correlation remain controversial.Objective: A case-control study based on bioelectrical impedance analysis was conducted to evaluate the correlation between abnormal body weight and sperm quality and to confirm the degree of impact of abnormal body weight on sperm quality. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 137 men who underwent fertility assessment at the Guangdong Provincial Reproductive Science Institute (Guangdong Provincial Fertility Hospital) between April 2024 and April 2025. Sperm parameters, body composition parameters, age, height, and other relevant information were extracted and analyzed. 137 males were divided into normal sperm group (Group A, n=29), oligoasthenozoospermia group (Group B, n=58), and azoospermia group (Group C, n=50). The differences between these groups were compared, and the inherent connections and patterns between the indicators were explored through Pearson correlation analysis and partial correlation analysis; to determine the correlation between weight and sperm quality; and to evaluate the influence of weight on sperm quality.Results: The body composition parameters of the different sperm count groups (A, B, and C) were similar and showed no differences. However, there were certain differences in age, height, weight, P, M, IBS, PBF, TBW, ICW, BFM, BCM, SLM, and SMM between groups AA and BB. They did not follow a linear distribution, and the KMO and Bartlett sphericity tests suggested that they followed a spherical distribution (KMO=0.775, sig=0.000), which was related to the presence of sperm. Factor analysis revealed that weight, PBF, height, age and IBS were the five key influencing factors. After combining height and weight factors, we found the age, IBS, and PBF were more decisive and sensitive than BMI. Conclusion: Body composition has a certain impact on sperm quality, especially age, IBS, and PBF, which may be more accurate than BMI. Bioelectrical impedance analysis could effectively assist in the judgment and has the potential to predict sperm parameters.
Keywords: Body Composition, Spermatogenesis, sperm parameters, bioelectrical impedance analysis, BMI
Received: 07 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Wang, Li, ZHU, Lin, Zhou and Zheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Huang Liu, NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangdong Provincial Reproductive Science Institute (Guangdong Provincial Fertility Hospital), Human Sperm Bank of Guangdong Province,, Guangzhou, China
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