Claims IVF as dangerous to evolution as junk food 'grotesque': IVF expert

An Australian IVF doctor has rubbished suggestions the treatment is a damaging 'evolutionary experiment' that could be as dangerous as junk food.

IVF Australia medical director Peter Illingworth says children born via IVF are just as likely to be healthy as naturally conceived children. Source: AAP

Australian IVF expert Peter Illingworth says a US evolutionary biologist's claims IVF is an "evolutionary experiment" and is comparable to junk food are "grotesque" and "highly selective".

University of California evolutionary biologist, Dr Pascal Gagneux, believes the technology may result in serious health issues for IVF children as they age.

He said studies he had conducted - on IVF mice and comparing the heart and artery functions of IVF and naturally conceived children - showed IVF children could encounter unexpected health problems as they got older.

"To me this is the epitome of a species taking its own fate into its own hands," he told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Washington DC.

"We're engaging in an evolutionary experiment. I would compare it to high-fructose corn syrup and fast food in the US. It took 50 years. It was fantastic, you got bigger and healthier, and now the US are the first generation that are shorter and heavier and die younger. But it took 50 years."

However Dr Illingworth, IVF Australia's medical director, told SBS News there were numerous studies from all around the world that showed IVF children were just as likely to be healthy as naturally conceived children.

He said Dr Gagneux's research was far from conclusive.

"He's being highly selective in the facts he's stating," Dr Illingworth said.

"It's one very small study and we've got an abundance of research that shows as IVF kids are getting older there is no difference between their health and that of naturally conceived children."

He said Dr Gagneux's comparison between IVF and fructose and fast food was "a grotesque comparison".

Dr Illingworth said that while "the vast majority of Western society eats junk food at some stage", only two to three per cent of babies were born via IVF.

He said there was evidence that IVF had a slightly higher risk of birth defects but there was no evidence of ongoing health problems for IVF children.

Bulli, NSW resident Jodie Stephens-Fripp had both her children, aged 6 and 4, via IVF and both were happy and healthy.

She told SBS News she had not heard anything about potential long-term health problems for IVF children before using the treatment.

"I don't think it would've worried me," Mrs Stephen-Fripp said.

"I think I was pretty desperate to have kids and I really wanted to have my own kids. It would've made me feel more anxious if I had heard kids that go through IVF were more likely to be sicker."

Mrs Stephen-Fripp said when her babies had been born the IVF clinic she used had called her to check on the birth weights of the babies and whether they arrived on time.

Dr Illingworth said it was important for couples contemplating IVF to have all the information available to them before beginning treatment, but there was not enough evidence to stop them from accessing IVF.

"What do we do about this?" he said.

"Are we not going to give couples access to technology to have a family because there just might be a risk of them contaminating the gene pool?"