Smoking and obesity have been associated with a longer time it takes to get pregnant or infertility. Still, the role of diet in preconception has not been well studied in a general population. Healthier foods and dietary patterns have been shown to be beneficial in women receiving infertility treatment. A study examined a total of 5598 women in the general population to establish whether a preconception diet is associated with reduced fertility by requiring a longer time to get pregnant. The results of the study showed that lower intakes of fruit and higher intakes of fast food were both associated with increases in TTP (time to pregnancy) and infertility.

Smoking and obesity have been associated with a longer time it takes to get pregnant or infertility. Still, the role of diet in preconception has not been well studied in a general population. Healthier foods and dietary patterns have been shown to be beneficial in women receiving infertility treatment. A study examined a total of 5598 women in the general population to establish whether a preconception diet is associated with reduced fertility by requiring a longer time to get pregnant. The results of the study showed that lower intakes of fruit and higher intakes of fast food were both associated with increases in TTP (time to pregnancy) and infertility.

Compared with women who consumed fruit ≥3 times/day, the adjusted effects of consuming fruit:

Increases in the median TTP;

 ≥1–<3 times/day -6%; 7%

 1–6 times/week -11%; 18%

<1–3 times/month -19%; 29%

 Compared with women who consumed fast food ≥4 times/week. 

Reduction in median TTP; reduced risk of infertility

≥2–<4 times- 11%; 18%,

>0–<2 times/week 21%,34%

No fast food- 24%, 41%

Lower intake of fruit and higher intake of fast food in the preconception period were both associated with a longer TTP.  

References

Jessica A Grieger, Luke E Grzeskowiak, Tina Bianco-Miotto, Tanja Jankovic-Karasoulos, Lisa J Moran, Rebecca L Wilson, Shalem Y Leemaqz, Lucilla Poston, Lesley McCowan, Louise C Kenny, Jenny Myers, James J Walker, Robert J Norman, Gus A Dekker, Claire T Roberts, Pre-pregnancy fast food and fruit intake is associated with time to pregnancy, Human Reproduction, Volume 33, Issue 6, June 2018, Pages 1063–1070, https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dey079 DOI: 10.1093/humrep/dey079