It is observed that the fertility rate of people is decreasing rapidly in the "developed" countries where people are accustomed with the modern lifestyle.
Is it due to the effect of the lifestyle?
Or some other reasons are there?
What is your idea?
Materialist consumer societies, where individualized self-realization is paramount, do put a very heavy toll on family life, procreation and fertility, i.e. families or couples with children are in full disadvantage in almost all cases of life-style decisions, e.g. finding appropriate housing, being flexible for the labor market, very fixed windows of time for vacancies, finding seating place in a restaurant,...Double income, no kids, works better in such a consumerist environment.
I suppose that, modern life style puts too many obstacles in human beings method of thinking. Concerning their fertility , it is reduced because less movement and laziness. This type of life leads man for stagnation and shallowness of mind work too.
Agreed as most of people focus carrier and carrier takes long time .In this respect, we loose productive period
Dear Dr. Shibabrata,
Yes i agree, modern lifestyle making people less fertile.
In modern times, 1 out of 10 couples in the reproductive age group tend to encounter difficulties while trying to conceive a baby. This ratio is set to increase notably in metro cities, more so in couples wherein both the partners are working professionals. The two main reasons for this phenomenon are:
1. Women trying to conceive when they are older
2. Couples living a stressful, unhealthy life
Regards
Rama
Ref.
https://m.indiatimes.com/health/healthyliving/how-the-modern-lifestyle-affects-fertility-243174.html
Maybe yes. Because, television in the bedroom is the safest and most powerful contraceptive. :)
Modern lifestyle is one of the topmost factors which answer for infertility in both men and women. Consumption of unhealthy food regularly and dramatic reduction of physical activities in day to day life contributes a lot to declining health of people, including reproductive health.
Dear Dr Pattanayek,
A number of lifestyle related issues can lead to infertility of couples. Some of them areas follows-----
1. Women’s lifestyle issues:
*Unhealthy weight
*Unhealthy diet
*sexually transmitted diseases
*smoking
*Alcohol consumption
*caffeine consumption
*Lesser physical activities
*exposure to toxins
2. Men’s lifestyle issues:
*Unhealthy diet
*alcohol and drug abuse
*Excessive use tobacco
*Unhealthy weight
*Increased stress
*Environmental exposure
*Activities causing increased scrotal temperature, etc
(Source: https://fertilitynj.com/infertility/lifestyle-and-infertility/)
Regards
Stress has become integral part of modern Life style. This alongwith unhealthy food habit, processed fast food loaded with harmful food additives and lack of physical activity are responsible for reduced fertility.
I agree with that . Cuz the couples can not have daily enough time to spend together . Since both of them are running after life .
I am agree with the statement of the question and theme of the replies made in the discussion above. Modern lifestyle distorts life by maximizing gap between nature and man. When our diet and lifestyle are inadequate to the health, a number of problems related to health and life starts.
Humanity should start to love the nature and beautify the earth at the place of distorting life system on it.
Thank you for sharing the question.
It depends on what is meant by life-style. The frequent use of a mobile that one can count to the lifestyle of today is certainly not a decisive factor for a small number of children. I often see young women pushing a pram with a mobile phone on their ears; that used to be the case, but with a mobile phone it might be more fulfilling. The baby may get a little less looks, words, attention if the young mother communicates with a number of friends, but it still grows up in the love of the parents.
Economic, social and health factors play a major role in determining this, so the lifestyle is the most effective determinant of fertility.
Yes, modern lifestyle does affect fertility in both men and women. Lifestyle factors such as diet, obesity, stress, insomnia, smoking, alcohol consumption, medication, drug abuse, caffeine consumption, use of cellular phones etc. have adverse effects on fertility in human beings. Please have a look at the following RG links.
Article Modern life-style: A threat for the fertility
Article Effect of modification of lifestyle on reproductive potential
Article Lifestyle causes of male infertility
Article The impact of lifestyle factors on reproductive performance ...
The lifestyle of a time has its causes in deeper socio-political, economic and social changes. The question has to do with a worldwide change in the role of women in society from the second half of the 20th century onwards (of course it is also possible to shift their origins to an earlier time). A prerequisite for the recent developments that produced feminism and gender studies was a new self-awareness and self-esteem of women in their gender roles. It was accompanied - in the countries of Europe and North America - by an urge for a higher level of education, in which women have in the meantime outstripped men to some extent.
In the past, women in traditional societies with traditional religions were fixated on the roles of housewife and mother, household and husband. This role was also associated with a lack of legal, moral and social equality. Through higher education it is possible to see through social and structural connections, which shows how the role of women in earlier times - and in some countries still today - had the function of a "birthing machine". This was also due to economic reasons, because the younger generation often had to provide for the old generation, who had left the work process, but in the meantime it's only still the principle of male dominance in a marriage, which the new gender role has finished or declined. Men in their husband-role normally are angry to lose their dominant function, and not all men have understood the gender change until to this day, they resist. This can lead to conflicts - anyway.
The self-determination of women today nevertheless allows them to have many children if they wish to do so themselves. But this is in the case of existing self-determination today rather the exception (which there is however, and is well!).
Women work in all academic professions, and are often more successful than men. However, unlike men, they usually also want to have a family and raise children. Children are now much more planned in modern married life than they used to be in former times. The smaller number of children is usually associated with more intensive attention.
In many families with a large number of children, the parents' greatest expectations are usually directed at the oldest children, who are in the middle or at the end of their lives, and have fewer prospects for the future because the economic means of promoting educational careers after their offspring are usually insufficient.
This can be proven very well sociologically - and is of course unfair. I would therefore regard the term "lifestyle" more as a superficial reason for the phenomenon of a smaller number of children in families today.
Modern lifestyle is one of the topmost factors which answer for infertility in both men and women. Stress in modern-day population is more than ever recorded earlier. Work and lifestyle-related stress contribute greatly to declining chances of conceiving in women and sperm count in men.
Consumption of unhealthy food regularly and dramatic reduction of physical activities in day to day life contributes a lot to declining health of people, including reproductive health.
I may have missed it, but one of the factors that reduces "fertility" in modern societies is the access and quality of contraceptives. Because people can control if and when they have a kid, they do so. Additionally, because infant mortality is far lower in modern societies, people don't have to have as many offspring to ensure that some survive into adulthood.
Speaking of which, I wonder how much different rates would be, if we adjusted for children who survive: how many children (who survive to adulthood) do people have?
Dear Dr Shibabrata Pattanayak ,
Yes, I certainly agreed with you that the modern system of life (sedentary lifestyle) and the eating a lot of speed meals, chips, etc increased the rate of infertility significantly according to all research that discussed the level of decline in fertility levels in women especially.
Regards
it is true , modern life style make the couples less fertile due to several contributing factors as already well mentioned above in the valuable and informative comments by the RG colleagues
Population increase has many causes, as well as yor suggested, Children are the guarantee of the future, of care when growing up, as sex means, the only entertainment for the poor
it Is more complicated than just modern life. In some cases, it may include religious, economic and social issues.
I agree with professor Amir W. Al Khatami that there are many factors that determine the fertility of people other than the issue of lifestyle.
Yes, unhealthy life style go the couple can reduce level of fertility.
Modern lifestyles, eating junks
Marrying late or at old age (above 30years)
Fertility varies from one person to another depending on age, health, psychological and physical conditions, mental conditions, economic conditions, lifestyle, etc.
Your observation appears to be true: less children in industrialized, "modernized" countries (average 1 to 1 1/2 children per family). The modern lifestyle does not make people infertile, the young people are too busy learning, travelling, etc that they forget to settle down.
May true, A lot of family planing among young couples to manage life.
Hein Retter : It is good that literate people are able to control family size and role of women is very important in it. However, I would like to add that awareness to future is good; but it is not good if fertility is decreased physiologically.
Sometimes extra use of birth control medicines, causes infertility in women which is not good for health.
Several studies clearly indicates that exposure to mobile phones negatively affects sperm quality. Please have a look at the following RG links.
Article The effect of cell phone usage on semen quality and fertilit...
Article The semen quality of the mobile phone users
Article The Effect of Smartphone's Radiation Frequency and Exposure ...
Article The influence of direct mobile phone radiation on sperm quality
Article Mobile phones affect multiple sperm quality traits: A meta-analysis
Article Evaluation of the effect of using mobile phones on male fertility
Article Cell phone and male infertility: An update
Article Effect of mobile telephones on sperm quality: A systematic r...
Article Habits of cell phone usage and sperm quality - Does it warra...
Article Effects of cell phone use on semen parameters: Results from ...
Article Impact of cell phone use on men’s semen parameters
Article Effect of cell phone usage on semen analysis in men attendin...
Very good discussion on modern life style and its impact on human health. The observation of most of the people is very useful and may help in improving the health and future generations in the present scenario.
In my opinion, there are several negative points in modern life.On the other hand, it has positive one. It is not acceptable to avoid any of them.
Prabhat Ranjan
Maybe you're right - and there are certainly more aspects to consider than I mentioned. But to give birth to and raise two to four children at a greater distance is not a sign of infertility, but - among other things, however not last but not least - the result of self-determined life plans that are outweighed by a woman's higher education. The longer time spent in school and education and the much more self-determined choice of partner (early forced marriage no longer determined by the family) ensure that mothers are older at the birth of their first child than before, according to statistics.
The concern about declining fertility probably stems more from the imagination of men who find it good to have a lot of offspring, no matter what women think about it. The subject should be left to the women themselves, who, in this discussion here, discreetly hold back, at least not form the majority. Regarding this subject I would rather entrust myself to well-educated women, especially doctors and researchers, than to men and their notions of the family. The issue should be removed from the absolute control and imagination of men in favour of the women concerned.
Yes
Changing Lifestyle
Modern lifestyle is one of the topmost factors which answer for infertility in both men and women. Consumption of unhealthy food regularly and dramatic reduction of physical activities in day to day life contributes a lot to declining health of people, including reproductive health.
Additionally, stress in modern-day population is more than ever recorded earlier. Work and lifestyle-related stress contribute greatly to declining chances of conceiving in women and sperm count in men.
Nirmala S.V.S.G
On the whole, I'm happy to agree with your answer. However, I would ask you to bear in mind that "life style" is a very superficial term, often used as a "label" of the media, but has no explanatory value whatsoever. The factors you mention, such as stress, are not only individual reasons that explain everything, but they describe a phenomenon correctly, but the causes of the phenomenon result from contradictions, disparities and dilemmas of the modern age. It has to be said that IT technology help to to solve problems which we saw as a hindrance to communication. That these problems don't longer exist is due to the multifunctional use of computers, the Internet and smartphones.
"This is wonderful, this global connectedness with which everyone can reach everyone today!"
In fact: But at the same time you become accessible to many people and to much more friendly people than you ever had contacted in former times. Now you get the chance to communicate with them - of course, this shortens your own time.
The more complex life relationships and the constant scarcity of time through devices that should actually give us time - the more stress is created - and many other factors that at first glance help people show their ugly background. If you look deeper, they lead people into dependencies from which they can no longer detach themselves.
Dear Dr. Retter,
I want to share the Indian condition with you .
In the area of IT industries (as Bengaluru city), you will find a huge number of fertility clinics. Getting pregnency at normal way is not found among many couple.
As written by our RG colleagues, It may be due to irregular lifestyle, junk food, chemical drinks, less body movement, use of medicines for every small problems, intake of hormone based instant contraceptives etc. etc.
But there are many remote villages in India, where annual delivery of offspring by the women is actually creating problem in a 140 crore populated country.
These people are poor and stay far away from the facilities of "modern" lifestyle.
This condition leads me to ask the question.
Thanks.
Shibabrata Pattanayak
Dear Colleague, I am thankful for your information, helpful for my understanding, and perhaps also for other "western" people. The difference of kinds of living is tremendous, indeed. But to decide about the own fertility may be also helpful for some families. I see more the dilemmatas and the contradictions of modern life than to try saying "yes" or "no" to the asked question.
Thanks,, H. Retter
One of the negative effects of our modern world- high-level of infertility.
Good contribution from respected colleagues. In general, It’s true that modern life style has profound negative effects on health, But this couldn’t be the situation for the under developed countries.
Yes, it is agreed, because the modern lifestyle has made people think that resources should not be depleted in different parts of the world and that the increase in population in the world in general has become a hindrance to planners' thinking of a balanced population development.
Yes, it is agreed, because the modern lifestyle has made people think that resources should not be depleted in different parts of the world and that the increase in population in the world in general has become a hindrance to planners' thinking of a balanced population development
Haider Majid Hasan
The rich lifestyle does not reduce childbearing, for example, Gulf states. Despite wealth, population increases continue, On the contrary there are countries that are not rich to witness significant increases
I agree. With modernization , people have less time for themselves which includes maintaining a happy and healthy life style. The elevated job/business pressure exacerbates urban people's health, they are too busy doing things that matter less that they cannot focus on things that actually matter . For example: They take social media as a tool to improve bonds and friendship with a lot of people, but they are doing so at a expense of proper communication with family members , with own self ( meditation ) which generally leads to increased stress. The anxieties level are higher. People are reluctant to having healthy foods.They are reluctant to bear child during youthful age . By the time they conceive, they are left with a less functioning reproductive system and hence the results.
I agree with @Pankaj Tomar, that thirst of glamour has inverse effect on health.
Yes, I am in full agreement with you Sir, Shibabrata Pattanayak, modern lifestyle makes people less fertile.
The distance from telecommunication tower was significantly associated with decreasing sperms volume
Taking medicines, high blood pressure, high level of sugar, psychological and physical reasons.
The phones emit radiofre- quency electromagnetic waves (EMW), a low-level radiofrequency (RF), at a frequency of between 800 and 2200 MHz, that can be absorbed by the human body and have potential adverse effect on brain, heart, endocrine system, and DNA of humans and cause disturbance in sleep; difficulty in concentration, fatigue, and headache.
Modern life style has deteriorated all the human systems and it has also shown detrimental impact on fertility. I agree with you fully Dr. Shibabrata Pattanayak Sir
Yehya A. Salih
The assumption that the use of mobiles causes serious and long-term health damage has long been discussed in Germany. However, the fact has no influence on the everyday life of the population, in which the mobile is constantly used. I do not use one, except in emergencies. But I would be interested to hear source data on studies that have found these damages. Internet links where such allegations are made by individual scientists, there should be many - they are of little value to us. But if we discuss the studies ourselves in RG that would be an advantage.
Many thanks, Hein Retter
low birthrate yet rapidly aging population >>> low rate of economic growth relative to skyrocketing health care costs and social burdens to care for the older adults >>> young generations' hardship to find a job and stay a financial stability >>> worsening the low birthrate >>> vicious circle
There are many reasons like hardship of job, financial sustainability, more thinking about future, marriage in higher age, modern life style and unhealthy food etc.
Yes, I am fully agree because their is all types of adulteration's in life.
Modern lifestyle is mostly dominated by sedentary lifestyle one unhealthy food. Due to it, present day people started suffer from physical and mental diseases including increase in infertility.
In developed country modern life style associated with lack of physical activity and increased stress leads to obesity and hormonal imbalance which in turn affect fertility.
Yes I also agree with you.
I agree with all the previous comments, specially older women looking for their first pregnancy, food contamination with heavy metals and pesticides, air pollution and stress particularly in big cities
Now-a-days more couples delay childbearing in order to establish their careers and those couples seek evaluation and treatment for infertility. Approximately 6.1 million people in The United States, or roughly 10% of the reproductive-age population are facing the problem of infertility
I'm in doubt, when I compare the countries like Japan, Korea or EU with Southeast Asian countries. 50 years back Japan was suffering in negative growth populations and surprisingly still they are struggling whereas Southeast Asian countries always booming populations in the past, present and definitely future
Dear Dr. Mamun,
Most of the people of south Asian countries are far away from the modern lifestyle of the level of Japan or USA.
So, this observation may may support the comment of the question.
Non-exercise life style, processed foods, pollution, noise, stress, social problems, taking medicines, all these reasons behind the decline in fertility level
Yes, fertility level is decreasing during the past two decades. This may be due to lifestyle, food habit, pollution, pesticides, hormonal imbalances etc.
many causes for increasing male and female infertility , couple who really wants to conceive with healthy baby life style modification can be advised but how one can reduce environmental factors in developing country where pollution, use of pesticides, addition of toxic material in food items etc which plays equal role can be controlled.
In today’s world, men and women are constantly exposed to factors which are making them more and more difficult to conceive. In reality, natural hormonal balance is under constant stress from several factors which hard to control. Unless exposure to junk food and toxic chemical contamination begins to decrease, it is unlikely that the prevalence of infertility will decrease. Wrong lifestyle is troublemaker for this wonderful body mechanism. Wrong lifestyle invites infertility and other diseases too. Medicines alone cannot cure this problem.
The interest of people to have leasure time and sex has risen rapidly among people, today. But perhaps this has nothing to do with modern lifestyle.
Lifestyle is just one factor that makes fertility. Other factors include, health, food, sports, happiness, stability, etc
It can contribute and due to other factors mentioned by others. In addition, it's a fact that many couples nowadays plan to have small family size.
There is often conscious limitation of children. In the UK before the 2nd World War, families with as many as 12 surviving children were routine. After the war, 5 was a regular number. Then three. Now two is probably most common.
Families are not central anymore. Careers, ambition, comes first and educated people tend not to create endless lines of children.
Isn't there plenty of us here already?
Stanley Wilkin and followers.
In the absence of other ideas and data, I gladly agree, Stanley. But one thought I should like to discuss: The number of children is certainly more to the detriment of the woman than to the detriment of the man in the everyday life of the family and the care of children; overall, the family income with a high number of children in the basic social class is borderline to the neediness and simplest living conditions.
I suspect that the strongest change towards one- or two-child families is determined by the changed role of women in society: Higher education of young women, results in longer training periods resp. studying time, and later marriage dates. Women today have much interest in a successful career and get help by law get equal chances (or better chances than men). But of course they have to find good balances between career and family, it is clear that this goes in reducing the number of children.
When the first child is born from the mother in her early 30s, there is not enough time for 10 children. Life planning today is obliged to a ranking, in which higher income, professional career, higher living quality, property (home, car etc.) play the main role. The desire to have children does not place at the beginning of these life goals, but somewhere in the middle or behind. Through the plannability of the desire to have children, the child has become more of a matter of joint acquisition, and no longer left to "nature" or chance. Therefore the term "lifestyle" seems to me too superficial for a social factor analysis.
Hein Retter
Hein, women control their fertility now as well as look for completeness outside marriage and motherhood. Also, cost. In London it was becoming impossible for a couple to buy a home of any description-or rent one. Both my youngest sons are unmarried and without children, and live with their mothers.
The social cost for fertility in modern societies is very high, in terms of marginal economics and ethical obligations, The highest marginal cost occurs in metropolitan service regions of the globe, where the total cost of living already exceeds the wages.With 2 and more children, you easily end up in social welfare and poverty; all empirical data point to double income and no kids=more fun. It is not only a matter of women's rights and biology, but a matter of living standards. As a father of 3 adult, educated and successful children, I have to report: it was a fight to bring them up under these adverse conditions for families.
The food produced by the agroindustry may be rich in calories but it is poor in whole nutrients and I would assign to these kinds foods the highest score of responsibility for decreasing human fertility. Fertility depends strongly on regular intake of foods containing antioxidants (e.g.: tocopherols aka: Vit. E) and minerals such as selenium, among many others. Add to this microresidues of pesticides (including herbicides residues like atrazine that have been proven to induce chemical castration even in minute amounts of few ppb/liter of water on frogs populations, in the upper midwest of the US). Then add food exposure during storage to chemicals that leach out into the food from cans, bottles, cartons linings during storage, releasing molecules that mimic hormones and thus disrupt, or affect normal endocrine physiology. We are exposed on a regular basis to a cocktail of synthetic products from food we eat, air we breath, water we drink and clothes we wear that it is impossible (in my opinion) to pinpoint one molecule or a few as the causes of infertility. Add to this the daily stress matched by a sedentary life and infertility (unless caused by congenital factors) may be truly inevitable.
Yes! The increased level of alcohol consumption among the youth is also factor to consider.
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