Men who frequently indulge in a traditional English cooked breakfast could be reducing their chances of fathering children, according to new research.
A diet rich in saturated fats - found in foods like fried bacon, sausages, butter and cream - could cut the sperm count by almost half, found researchers at Harvard Medical School in the US.
Their study discovered that it did not matter if the man was fat or thin - such a diet had the same negative effect on sperm concentration.
Dr Jill Attaman and colleagues looked at 91 men seeking fertility treatment and asked them how often they ate certain foods, what types of oil they used in cooking and baking and the types of margarine they consumed.
Of the group, 21 men also had the levels of fatty acids in their sperm and semen measured.
Presenting the study's findings at the annual American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Denver, she said: "We were able to demonstrate that in men who took in higher amounts of fats, such as saturated fat and monounsaturated fat, there was an association with decreased sperm concentration."
Overall, men with the highest saturated fat intake consumed 13 per cent of their daily calories as saturated fat, while those in the lowest third took in eight per cent.
The study concluded: "Men in the highest third of saturated fat intake had 41 per cent fewer sperm than those in the lowest third.
"Likewise men in the highest third of monounsaturated fat intake had 46 per cent fewer sperm than those in the lowest third."
She said diet could have a greater impact on ability to father a child among men with a lower base level of sperm concentration.
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