A study of over 5,000 women has found those who eat less fruit and more fast food take longer to get pregnant and are less likely to conceive within a year.

Researchers asked 5,598 women in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland about their diet. The women, who had not had a baby before, were interviewed by midwives during their first antenatal visit.

Compared to women who ate fruit three or more times a day in the month before conception, women who ate fruit less than one to three times a month took half a month longer to become pregnant. Similarly, compared to women who never or rarely ate fast food, women who consumed fast food four or more times a week took nearly a month longer to become pregnant.

“The findings show that eating a good quality diet that includes fruit and minimising fast food consumption improves fertility and reduces the time it takes to get pregnant,” said lead researcher Professor Claire Roberts.

The study is accessible here.

Dr Gino Pecoraro - a senior lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Queensland who was not involved in the study – says its is “another good reason for women hoping to start a family to make sure they ditch the fast food and switch over to a healthy diet”.

“The study was retrospective and relied on women’s recollection of specific food items which can notoriously be inaccurate. It did not look into the diet of the fathers, but generally, the study does support what most health professionals would intuitively believe. Having a healthy diet is good for couples trying to conceive,” Dr Pecoraro said.

“Although there was no proven benefit from this survey from having a diet rich in green, leafy vegetables or fish, it certainly looks as though fruit (which plays an important part in plant reproduction) also seems to be important for humans wanting to get pregnant.”