Contents:
- Medical Video: Birth Control Myths | Fact Check
- Why is there an assumption that birth control pills make fat?
- What are the facts about the effect of birth control pills on body weight?
- Each woman has different side effects on birth control pills
Medical Video: Birth Control Myths | Fact Check
One reason women do not want to use birth control pills to delay pregnancy is because there is an assumption that birth control pills make fat. Birth control pills are contraceptives that are actually considered quite effective in delaying pregnancy. However, do birth control pills make fat right? Or is it just a myth?
Why is there an assumption that birth control pills make fat?
Even since it was first introduced, in the 1960s, birth control pills and their effects on changes in body weight have been debated. Most doctors and medical personnel stated that they agreed if birth control pills were considered to increase body weight and make a person fat. But, you don't need to worry, because the birth control pills mentioned earlier are 'first generation' pills which have not been widely developed in the medical world.
At that time, birth control pills contain very high amounts of estrogen and progesterone. According to experts, the first generation birth control pill even contains more than 1000 times the amount of hormones in the current birth control pill. Too much estrogen in the body can indeed cause fluid retention - accumulation of fluid in several parts of the body - and increase appetite, so that these two things can make a woman's weight gain.
What are the facts about the effect of birth control pills on body weight?
A study that examined the issue of whether birth control pills make fat the mothers carried out in 2011 by researchers from Gothenburg University in Sweden. Researchers invited as many as 1,400 fertile women who used birth control pills for a considerable period of time. At the end of the study, it was found that there was no relationship between taking birth control pills with weight gain. Weight gain only occurs in women over the age of 45 years and this also occurs due to changes in natural bodily functions that occur, not because of the effects of birth control pills.
Not only that, 44 other studies also prove the same thing, namely stating that birth control pills make fat just a myth. In these studies, most women who used birth control pills to delay their pregnancy did not gain weight. If the increase in body weight occurs, then the condition only lasts 2-3 months and then the woman's body weight returns to normal.
Each woman has different side effects on birth control pills
Although currently circulating birth control pills have a much lower hormone dose than first generation birth control pills, still every body has a different response to incoming drugs. There may be a handful of women who gain weight due to taking birth control pills. But this happens due to fluid retention that may be experienced by the woman.
Some birth control pills make fat due to the high hormone content. Some experts also agree that women who take birth control pills that contain estrogen hormones of more than 30 micrograms have a greater chance of gaining weight. However, once again you do not need to worry about taking birth control pills because these drugs are quite safe to drink and effective in preventing pregnancy.
If you experience sudden weight gain when taking birth control pills - even though most do not gain weight - then you should consult this with your doctor.
