Obesity and Birth Control Pills

The first face – The failure of birth control pills

A recent study has found that overweight or obesity increases the chances of pregnancy while using birth control pills. Gynecologists say that birth control pills (also known as oral contraceptives) have not enough effect on overweight or obese women. Overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9) women have 60% and obese (BMI 30 or more) women have 70% more chances of pregnancy than normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) women while taking oral contraceptives regularly. For women who missed oral contraceptive, the risk of pregnancy more than doubled compare to overweight or obese women. Study says that out of hundred overweight women taking the oral contraceptives, five got pregnant while only three out of hundred normal weight women who take oral contraceptives got pregnant each year.

The reason of failure of oral contraceptives is not clearly known. This is a big research area. They said there are several possibilities for failure of oral contraceptives in obese women.

• The hormones in oral contraceptives are soluble in fat which is in enough quantity in obese women. Due to this, fat hormones dissolve in fat rather than entering the bloodstream.

• Metabolism is also a major cause. The basal metabolic rate increases according to body weight; more the body weight, more basal metabolic rate. The increase in metabolic rate decreases the duration of medication effect. This is the also one of the causes due to which oral contraceptives do not work.

• Due to obesity, there is an increase in liver enzymes which help metabolize the hormones in oral contraceptives.

• Nowadays the hormones level in oral contraceptives is reduced by five times than first introduced.

• Circulating blood volume in obese women is greater than normal women in which the steroids are transported. Fat cells may sequester steroids. Obese women also metabolize steroids in different way than normal one.

Now the real question arises. Should overweight women who don’t want to risk an unplanned pregnancy should take more oral contraceptives or higher dose oral contraceptives or not? Gynecologists say it is not necessarily because overweight or obese women have more chances of cardiovascular disease risk factors than normal weight women. They suggest that obese women who completed childbearing use some permanent form of birth control such as tubal sterilization.

Obese women who want to be pregnant may use condom or other methods. Another method for obese women suggests that first they should lose their weight, and then plan to use oral contraceptives. For weight loss, obese women can use weight loss diet pills, natural supplements, exercise, yoga and other weight loss programs. Through exercise losing weight takes more time which is not considerable for women. For quick weight loss they can use weight loss diet pills.

The second face- Birth control pills- Reason of Obesity

Gynecologists say that birth control pills (oral contraceptives) may have many side effects; one of them is weight gain or obesity. Most of the women get five pounds weight after taking oral contraceptives. Normally women get weight after few days or a month from starting of taking the pills. In most of the cases, women gain weight who do not take oral contraceptives in the last half of their menstrual cycle; this is due to hormonal changes. This is also important to know why women get obese by taking oral contraceptives. Reasons for this are as follows.

• Due to oral contraceptives, the level of metabolism alters. This is because both the estrogen and progestin present in these pills can cause fluid retention, a temporary effect that often begins in the first month as a result of an increase in sodium. The cause of weight gain (increase of hips, breast, or thigh) is due to estrogen.

• Oral contraceptives contain progestin which cause increase in appetite and permanent weight gain.

• Pills administered for depression may also be the cause of weight gain.

Women who get weight due to oral contraceptives may loose weight through weight loss diet pills, natural supplements, exercise, yoga and other weight loss programs.

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