Obesity and conception

Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 kg/m2. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, almost 30 million people worldwide were categorized as obese in 2003.' In the USA, 32% of the overall population are obese and another 34.1% are overweight.2 When race and gender are overlaid on these findings, striking disparities are seen, with 30% of non-Hispanic white women, 42.3% of Mexican-American women, and 53.9% of non-Hispanic black women categorized as obese in the USA.2 In Europe, 150 000 000 adults and 15 000 000 children carry the diagnosis of obesity.3 Given the well-known impact of obesity on poor health outcomes, these findings make obesity one of the focus areas of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010 agenda.4 In addition to its negative impact on cardiac, pulmonary, endocrine, and vascular disease, obesity has a similar impact on fertility, fecundity, and fecundability.