Today’s a continuation of yesterday’s email so if you missed it, STOP!  Read this first.

If you have your waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), let’s talk about what it means to you and potentially your fertility and long-term health…

According to the World Health Organization, a healthy WHR is:

• 0.85 or less for women
• 0.9 or less in men

For giggles, I calculated Barbie’s WHR.  It’s 0.55. :0

Then out of sheer fascination, I looked up Kim Kardashian’s dimensions.  Her WHR is 0.61.

By no means am I promoting their bodies as ideal.  In fact, Kim’s figure is unrealistic without a lot of help.  I was just curious.

Anyhoo…

In both men and women, a WHR of 1.0 or higher increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and premature death.

It also has a significant impact on your fertility…

In one study, women with WHR between 0.70-0.79 had a pregnancy rate of 29.9% as compared to 15.9% in women with WHR >0.80.

In another study of 500 women, a 0.1 unit increase in waist-hip ratio led to a 30% decrease in probability of conception per cycle.  The author concluded “Body fat distribution in women of reproductive age seems to have more impact on fertility than age or obesity.”

In women, the connection between WHR and fertility is hormonal.

Estrogen is the hormone responsible for fat distribution.  Since women have more estrogen, we get more jiggle in the thighs and butt.  Men tend to carry extra weight in their belly.

One of the biggest problems both women and men are facing today is a condition called “estrogen dominance” where there is too much estrogen relative to their other hormones.

Why is it such an issue?

We’re overexposed to estrogens through food, chemicals, or medications such as hormone replacement therapy and birth control pill.

With that hormonal imbalance comes fertility issues.

Come back tomorrow to find out how too much estrogen can affect your fertility and put you at risk for serious, life-threatening diseases…

All my best,
Julie Chang, L.Ac.
Natural Fertility Eggspurt