Received June 26, 2009
Accepted January 27, 2010

Obesity has been increasing in many countries. Several studies have reported that fertility is clearly affected by hormonal changes in obese individuals. The objective of this study was to assess the fertility status based on spermograms of three obese men (group A), one obese man who had undergone the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (group B) and a control group (group C). There was a decrease in sperm concentration and total sperm count in patients in group A, when compared to the control group C. A decrease in volume and normal morphology in group A was also observed. However, motility was not altered significantly, but in the subgroups a decrease in the relative count of progressive and rapid (Types A and B) motile sperm was noted in group A. Results of the spermocytogram of the individual that underwent gastric surgery showed normozoospermy, the semen volume, sperm morphology and viability presented normal values, which were superior when compared to those in group A. These preliminary results suggest that obesity-related physiological alterations are the main factors leading to infertility in the subjects analyzed and the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery does not affect the individual´s fertility status.