Body Shape Affects Fertility

Women in Devon are being warned it is not just being overweight that can make getting pregnant harder - but where that weight is on their bodies.

Gurpreet Pandher is a hospital consultant in the county: "fertility is even more related to what we call truncal obesity which is how much weight you put on round your middle. The woman who looks more like an apple with weight around her middle rather than on her hips will probably struggle more than somebody who is pear shaped."

She has told Heart it is important that women don't compare themselves to others: "one of the things woman do is look at somebody who is fatter than themselves and say 'but she's got 3 children, it's not fair!' - that's because its not all about weight, it's weight in relation to you and which part of your body you put it on"

She says even losing a small amount of weight can help improve fertility.