Neha Anurag
Ridge Point High School
Infertility is a large health issue in the United States, impacting nearly 11% of women each year. Dietary lifestyle, such as consumption of high glucose on a daily basis, has been proven to negatively impact the reproductive system. To explore the contribution of high glucose in regulating the reproductive rate, I compared the effect of a high glucose diet to a control, low glucose diet in the reproduction rate of the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly). High glucose has previously been shown to induce obesity and diabetes in fruit flies. Diabetes and obesity are rising epidemics worldwide and are associated with altered hormone levels that can lead to reduced reproduction rate. Both the experimental and the control groups (with 10 male and 10 female flies) were fed their respective diets for two weeks during a single trial. The control diet included protein (19.7%), fat (13.8%), ash (1.7%), moisture (59.6%), and other (5.2%), while the high glucose diet included the same diet composition with an additional 20% of glucose. After two weeks, the Drosophila group fed with the high glucose diet produced fewer pupae (3 pupae) compared to the controlled diet fed group (20 pupae). This study suggests that consumption of a high glucose diet negatively impacts the reproductive rate, potentially contributing to infertility.