Question

The book talks about the how nutritional factors affect the levels of hormones involved in reproduction. Also it talks about the adipose tissue produces estrogen and cellular signaling molecules with widespread effect. So I have been told that if someone is not enough adipose tissue or even too much adipose tissue it decreases your chances of conceiving. So my question is if this is true what is the range of adipose tissue needs to have a better chance of conceiving. Also, why does having too much adipose tissue affect conceiving?

Answer 1

Adipose Tissue is loose connective tissue which is composed basically of adipocytes and it stores energy in form of fat. In mammals, Obesity is not determined by body weight instead it is determined by the amount of Adipose tissue present also known as body fat. It is of two types White Adipose Tissue (WAT), it stores energy and Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT), which generates body heat. In recent studies, Adipose tissue has been recognized as a major Endocrine Organ so it means that it produces hormones like estrogen, leptin etc...
There are various kinds of fat in mammals which pose a threat to us in various ways example:
Visceral Fat- commonly known as organ fat, if it is in excess it is known as belly fat which leads to various obesity-related disease such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance etc...
Similarly, there are other kinds of fats like Subcutaneous fat, Marrowfat, Ectopic fat. All these are adipose tissue which if in access disrupts various life functions also affects cell signaling and in turn affects hormone production. if the amount of adipose tissue is very high then Obesity happens.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) in humans, Adipose tissue can be maintained by Body Mass Index (BMI) it determines whether the individual is overweight, underweight or Obese. It is measured by height and mass of individual, if BMI is 18.5 kg/m2 then it is considered underweight if it is between 18-25 kg/m2 then it is normal weight if it equals to or is greater than 25 kg/m2, it is considered overweight, whereas if the BMI equals to or is greater than 30 kg/m2, it is considered obesity.
So this is the range to have best reproductive health.

Obesity additionally plays a big role in reproductive disorders, significantly in women. It is related to biological process with anovulation, menstrual disorders, infertility, difficulties in assisted reproduction, miscarriage, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Obesity in women affects secretion of gonadotropin as it increases peripheral aromatization of androgens to estrogens. The insulin resistance and leptin levels are increased and hyperandrogenemia occurs in women due to obesity
Excess adipose tissue in women aggravates polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and anovulation and may cause hypothalamic hypogonadism.
As the BMI increases, leptin levels increase both in blood and follicular fluid. Leptin inhibits insulin-induced ovarian steroidogenesis by acting on the theca and granulosa cell receptors. Leptin also inhibits LH-stimulated estradiol production by the granulosa cells. Leptin has another effect on reproductive functions which is the regulation of early embryo cleavage and development.
So having high adipose tissue leads to various reproductive health issues leading to difficulty in conceiving.