Of all the things you thought were bad about weighing more than you'd like, you might not have thought of this: a possible unwanted pregnancy.
Research is raising new concerns that the most popular type of emergency contraception - morning-after pills made from the hormone levonorgestrel, which prevents ovulation - are less effective in women who weigh more than 165 pounds. (To put this in context, the average weight of American women in their 20s is 162 pounds; in their 30s, 169 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
Writing in Women's Health magazine, Elizabeth Dawes Gay starts with some background: In 2013, the European-made Norlevo added a warning on its packaging that the morning-after pill begins to lose effectiveness among women who weigh 165 pounds and isn't effective at all for women weighing more than 175. Although Norlevo is chemically identical to Plan B in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said the data was inconclusive and did not require a warning here.
But a new study led by Alison Edelman, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Oregon Health and Science University, compared the effectiveness of a levonorgestrel-based contraceptive among women whose BMI was in the normal range and some who were considered obese. They found that it took a double dose of the drug to raise the obese women's hormone level to that of the women of normal weight.
So Gay asks: Could overweight women compensate by taking two pills if they need emergency contraception?
"As a clinical provider, I would love to tell you yes," Edelman tells her. "As a researcher, it's not something we can recommend yet." What they have shown thus far is that the level of the ovulation-inhibiting hormone could be raised by a double dose; more studies will be needed to show how those hormones actually affect the women's ovaries.
Experts always advise maintaining a healthy weight in order to ward off lifestyle diseases. An upward trend in weight gain over the years may lead to a host of ailments later in life. Obesity or a BMI above 25 is often linked to the risk of developing heart diseases, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases like cancer. A new study conducted by the experts at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia suggests that women who gain close two pounds every year in their 20s are more susceptible to getting obese in their 40s.
It was also found that women whose body-weight gain was under 0.19kgs per year were able to maintain a healthy weight later in life. The study was presented at the European Congress of Obesity in Portugal and studied women ageing 18-23 years.
Smoking, use of oral contraceptives or turbulence in married life such as divorce, death of a partner or separation were also found as some of the contributory factors in weight gain in women. Some of the most recent studies link obesity in women - especially abdominal obesity - with metabolic issues like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Obesity is also one of the major causes of postmenopausal breast and endometrial cancer.
"Obesity is associated with elevated mortality from all causes in both men and women, and the risk of death rises with increasing weight. Curbing the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes calls for not only changes in diet and lifestyle at individual levels but also changes in policy, physical and social environment, and cultural norms," a study published in US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
Obesity refers to having too much fat in one's body. But it isn't the same as being over-weight. An over-weight person weighs more than he is supposed to due to the weight of his bones, muscles, fats and body water. Whereas obesity occurs when there is an accumulation of excess or abnormal amounts of fat in the body. People are considered to be obese when their body mass index is more than 30 kg/m2, when the normal range is 25-30 kg/m2. Body Mass Index (BMI) is the body mass divided by the square of the body height and is universally expressed in kilograms by metre square.
According to Dr. Sujeet Jha, Director Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity, Max Super Specialty Hospital, "Obesity in women leads to abdominal obesity, which is the excessive fat build-up around the stomach area that leads to cardiovascular disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes. It also can harm the heart muscle more directly."
Causes of Obesity in Women
Women develop this medical condition due to several reasons which result in negative and harmful effects on their health. Thyroid, metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are a few of the leading causes of obesity in women. Genes also play a significant role at making an individual obese and some rare genetic diseases make it impossible to get rid of this condition. Pregnancy too may contribute to obesity and result in eating disorders like binge-eating.
obesity obese kids
Those who were over-weight as kids have a higher chance at being obese as adults. Steroids and drugs may have harmful side-effects on one's body and lead to obesity too. Eating foods which are high in fat and calories and not working-out to burn the added pounds are a common problem seen in most Indian households. Women who have a lower metabolic rate have a tough time in keeping a check on weight. This puts the women at a high risk for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and a number of cancers like postmenopausal breast cancer and endometrial cancer.
Symptoms of Obesity
The symptoms of obesity are disturbed sleep, shortness of breath, gallstones, varicose veins, sleep apnea, which is a condition which causes breathing irregularity and trouble while sleeping, etc. BMI is used to diagnose obesity; if it is higher than 30, it is stated as obesity. Body fat can also be calculated by using an instrument that measures the thickness of your skin, called "Calipers".
Due to the inability of women to resist emotional cues and uncontrolled eating, obesity affects them more than men. According to Dr. Pradeep Chowbey, Chairman of Max Institute of Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, Chairman of Surgery & Allied Surgical Specialties, Executive Vice Chairman of Max Healthcare, "Women are approximately 60% more prone to obesity. In addition to genetics, caloric imbalance and poor lifestyle choices, there could be multiple reasons for obesity in women. Primarily, multiple pregnancies and sedentary lifestyles today as compared to the enormous physical activities till about few decades back are showing a rise in obesity cases. But this can be avoided by sensitizing women from an early age and introducing such issues in schools and colleges where women must be made aware of what Body Mass Index is and continuously monitor it."
How to Control Obesity
Obesity can be treated by increasing physical activity and reducing calorie-intake. A modified diet which consists of healthy fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils will help reduce the condition. Carbohydrates and unhealthy fats should be reduced and in-take of calcium-based foods like kale, broccoli, salmon, cabbage, etc. should be increased. Whole grains, nuts, seeds and leafy vegetables should be added to one's diet. Regular jogs and moderate intensity workouts for 60 minutes on most days is important to do away from obesity. All-round fitness should be strived for to make oneself healthy and get rid of obesity.
The phase of pregnancy is crucial for the growth and development of the child. A pregnant woman's diet - what she eats and the habits she follows - has a huge implication on the well-being of the child as he or she grows up. It is not just smoking or alcohol than you need to restrict, but also a list of everyday food items that are unhealthy. Rice makes a favourite staple for most people, however, it turns out that it may not be as good for pregnant women with diabetes. A recent study explains that high consumption of refined grains by pregnant women with gestational diabetes may expose their newborns to the risk of obesity.
The study found that mothers who ate the least quantity of refined grain (less than 37 grams per day) were at lesser risk as compared to pregnant women who ate more 156 grams of refined grains a day. Children's risk of obesity persisted even if they were physically active or consumed a stable diet. For the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the team compared records from 918 mother-child pairs.
Some of the previously conducted studies have linked obesity in kids with a host of factors tied around mother's pregnancy. Stress during pregnancy may put the fetus under pressure and make the newborn susceptible to not only just obesity but a range of health issues. Most pregnant women steer clear of consuming fish owing to any exposure to mercury. A study that was conducted last year concluded that high fish consumption during pregnancy may also make the child prone to obesity.
A couple of researches conducted earlier this year link parent's obesity and mother's excessive cola consumption with developmental issues and risk of obesity in the kid.
"The results provide the first human evidence that artificial sweetener consumption during pregnancy may increase the risk of early childhood overweight," said Meghan B Azad from the University of Manitoba, Canada, reported by IANS. The study analysed close to 3000 pregnant women along with their infants to study the link between sugary drink consumption during pregnancy and changes in infants' BMI in the first year of their birth.
New findings, published in the Journal Pediatrics, show that apart from health related issues, children of obese mothers were nearly 70 per cent more likely to fail tests of fine motor skill -- the ability to control movement of small muscles, such as those in the fingers and hands -- by age 3, when compared to children of normal-weight mothers.
Similar studies and researches point at the possibility of tracing chronic childhood health issues back to parents' health and the pregnancy.
Being overweight or obese during pregnancy can cause several complications. It puts the mother at risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure and may even lead to several serious health problems for the newborn. According to a new study, The BMJ medical journal, mother's obesity can out the foetus at the risk of developing major birth defects such as malformations of the heart and genitals.
According to the researchers, the number of women above the age of 18 classified as severely obese, has doubled from 50 million to 100 million in the last 10 years. If these trends continue, one in five women will be obese by 2025. Obesity and being overweight can be differentiated on the basis of the Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is the measure of the body fat based on the height and weight of an individual. It can be used as screening tool to determine an approximate measure of whether someone is over- or underweight. It is measured on a scale of hundred.
As per the World Health Organisation, a BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered normal, 25-29.9 is overweight, 30-34.9 will be moderately obese, 35-39.9 is severely obese, and anything over 40 is morbidly obese. For the study, the team examined data from more 1.2 million births registered in Sweden between 2001 and 2014.
They collected information about children born with major birth defects and compared it to the BMI of the mothers at the time of birth. It was noted that more than 43,500 children suffered serious malformations and the most common one was a heart defect. The results of the study showed that for babies born to mothers with normal weight as well as those who were underweight, the rate of congenital malformation was about 3.4%. The risk rose to 3.5% for children of overweight women, 3.8% for obese ones, 4.2% in the severely obese category and 4.7% for morbidly obese mothers. Interestingly, it was also seen that the risk was higher for boys than for girls.
These findings took into consideration potential risk factors such as maternal smoking, drinking, socio-economic status, diabetes, the use anti-epileptic drugs, and vitamin deficiencies. The study indicates that women should have a healthy BMI and aim for losing acquiring normal body weight before they decide to conceive for a healthy pregnancy and the health of their child.