Young people are aware that negative lifestyle factors reduce fertility but falsely believe in fertility myths and the benefits of healthy habits, say researchers.
The UK-based team used a 21-item questionnaire to assess fertility knowledge in 110 female and 39 male under- and postgraduate university students, with an average age of just over 24 years.
Participants were far better at identifying fertility risks than myths, and better at identifying the latter than illusory benefits of healthy habits, with average correct scores of 90.70 percent, 41.53 percent, and 26.46 percent, respectively.
All risk factors, such as smoking and being overweight, were correctly identified, report Laura Bunting and Jacky Boivin from Cardiff University.
However, participants mistakenly believed that they could increase their fertility, for example by moving to the countryside, using specific coital techniques, eating fruit and vegetables, or adopting a child.
They also believed that "not doing" something unhealthy, for example never drinking alcohol, could increase fertility instead of simply reducing exposure to risk and its effects.
"Together these results would suggest that people could, if faced with a fertility problem, engage in ineffective behaviors that could delay seeking effective interventions," the researchers conclude.
