Weight Loss Improves Fertility In Women With PCOS

Women who have the hormone disorder polycystic ovary syndrome may be able to improve their fertility through weight loss and exercise, according to the results of a new study.

Dr. Richard S. Legro, study co-author and professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and public health sciences from the Penn State College of Medicine (Hershey, PA), gave a statement saying that “The findings confirm what we have long suspected – that exercise and a healthy diet can improve fertility in women who have PCOS”.

Total, ladies who engaged in each life-style modifications and programs of contraception had been extra more likely to ovulate than ladies simply given contraception. Second group underwent lifestyle modifications.

PCOS may not be cured, but it can be treated, including using birth control pills to minimize the production of androgens and regulate ovulation. Women were categorized in three groups as group A, group B and group C. Women in group A were given birth control pills to increase fertility rate, women in group B had changes in their lifestyle whereas women in group C had both lifestyle modification and birth control pills.

Girls with polycystic ovary syndrome, a standard situation in ladies identified to trigger infertility, may gain advantage from weight reduction and train. Participants then underwent a course of birth control, lifestyle changes involving healthy diet and exercise or a combination of lifestyle changes and birth control over a four-month period.

In this new open-label study, the researchers aimed to compare different interventions for PCOS – including the birth control pill – assessing the impact they had on fertility.

The researchers found that five of the 49 women in the birth control pill group gave birth. Of those 13 women, 12 went on to give birth. In addition, women in the lifestyle and combination arms reported better feelings of well-being. The results from a study covering 150 subjects that were overweight and obese and who suffered from PCOS, but not from any other disease showed that fertility rates were highest amongst those who adopted changes in their lifestyle by both switching to healthier ways of eating and exercising.

Nevertheless, there is still an open question for women with PCOS who are not obese, since the study did not take them as an instrument for the research.

Legro goes on to say, “The research indicates preconception weight loss and exercise improve women’s reproductive and metabolic health”. The standard treatment usually comprises of a course of oral contraceptives which are given to boost the ovulation cycle which can have adverse side effects in deterring conception.