Improved Fertility After Exercise in Overweight/Obese Women

Study of Pregnancy Rate After Exercise Training Prior to Assisted Fertilisation in Overweight/Obese Women

Status

Terminated

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01933633

Acronym

FertilEX

Enrollment

Registered

2013-09-02

Start date

2013-09-30

Completion date

2017-12-31

Last updated

2018-08-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Infertility, Female, Obesity

Keywords

Pregnancy, Fertility, exercise, Fertilization in vitro

Brief summary

Overweight/obesity is associated with sub-fertility. The investigators will assess if regular exercise training prior to assisted fertilization will improve pregnancy rate in overweight/obese women referred to assisted fertilization. It is expected that training will be successful in increasing pregnancy rate

Detailed description

Obesity is associated with several diseases, as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer, this is of great concern for the public health. Also, of more immediate importance for these women; obesity is associated with increased risks of sub-fertility. The overall aim of the current project is to expand the knowledge about effective interventions to prevent the increasing prevalence of obesity-associated sub-fertility in population. One cause of the increased referral rate for in-vitro fertilization is the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity. Currently, about 700 couples are annually referred for in-vitro fertilization at St.Olav's Hospital. In this interdisciplinary trial, involving physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, gynecologists, and basic researchers, the effects of regular high intensity exercise training on fertility in sub-fertile overweight and obese women will be investigated.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALExercise

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

18 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* body mass index (weight in kg/height in cm squared) \>25 * accepted for assisted fertilization treatment at St.Olav's hospital

Exclusion criteria

* low responders, defined as AMH \<2 pmol/L or \< 5 oocytes in prior in vitro fertilisation (IVF)/Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles or antral follicle count (AFC) \< 5 * current or previous Metformin use (a wash-out period of \> four weeks)

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Pregnancy rate	7 weeks after assisted fertilisation	The primary outcome measure is ongoing pregnancy, defined as the sonographic evidence of intrauterine gestational sac and fetal heart activity at seven weeks of gestation.

Countries

Norway

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 13, 2026