Fig. 1

Comparison of DFI, percentage of sperm with immature chromatin, and ROS levels (MFI) between study groups. A Obesity resulted in significant increase in DFI (p = 0.0004) compared to normal-weight group. B Obesity also resulted in significant rise in percentage of sperm with immature chromatin (p = 0.0098) compared to normal-weight group. C Intracellular ROS level (p = 0.0009) was also significantly higher in group with obesity compared to normal-weight group. A-C All data are presented as Mean ± SEM. The independent sample t-test with Welch’s correction was conducted (*P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, and *** P < 0.001). D Photomicrograph of the SCD test for assessing sperm DFI, 100 × objective. Sperm with fragmented DNA (#), Normal healthy sperm (*). E Photomicrograph of the AB staining for assessing sperm chromatin maturation, 100 × objective. Sperm with immature chromatin (#), Normal healthy sperm (*). Abbreviations: ROS Reactive Oxygen Species, MFI Mean Fluorescence Intensity, DFI DNA Fragmentation Index, SCD Sperm Chromatin Dispersion, AB Aniline Blue