Obesity and oxidative stress: Implications for female fertility

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in most parts of the world, and it is estimated that 1 billion people globally are trapped in an obesity pandemic, which has seriously compromised human health. Recently, there has been a flood of research into obesity as well as redox and lipid metabolism; however, our understanding of the pathways and specific molecular mechanisms by which obesity-induced oxidative stress affects female reproductive function remains limited. In this review, we discuss how the obesity pandemic has led to lower female fertility. We focus on multiple facets of obesity-mediated reproductive dysfunction, including follicular atresia, oocyte maturation, embryo implantation, reproductive aging, and discuss therapeutic interventions that have the potential to normalize reproductive function in obese females, such as targeting mitochondrial lipid metabolism and antioxidant pathways.