Researchers who looked at more than 5,500 women from Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand found those who consumed the least fruit were 50 per cent more likely to be infertile.
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. Their risk of infertility also doubled from eight to 16 per cent.
Professor Claire Roberts, of the University of Adelaide, Australia, who led the study, said: “These 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.”
For the study pregnant women were surveyed by midwives on how long it had taken them to become pregnant, as well as their intake of fruit, and fast foods such as burgers, pizza, fried chicken and chips.
“As diet is a modifiable factor, our findings underscore the importance of considering preconception diet to support timely conception for women planning pregnancy.”