Weight Gain, “The Pill” and Other Contraceptives
Many adolescents receive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (also known as DMPA or Depo-Provera) intra-muscularly every 3 months as a contraceptive. Of these girls, 41% cite weight gain as the primary reason for discontinuing this method of birth control. At twelve months of use, as few as 27% of DMPA users are still continuing with this method. Despite this anecdotal evidence that DMPA increases girls’ weight, not all studies have confirmed this.
This study set out to determine what weight changes occur in obese and non-obese girls who initiate DMPA, an oral contraceptive, or nothing (control). The population consisted of 450 females (ages 12-18) who attended any of 4 urban adolescent health clinics. A structured interview as well as height and weight were collected at baseline, and at 6, 12, and 18 months.
Adolescent girls who were obese at initiation of DMPA prescription gained significantly more weight than did obese girls starting oral contraceptives or obese controls. Weight gain in obese girls receiving DMPA was also greater than weight gain in all categories of non-obese girls. The longer a girl was on DMPA, the greater weight gain she had experienced.
(Bonny A, et al. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006; 160:40-45.)
Comment. Prescribing DMPA for sexually active females who are obese may not be wise, unless it is fairly certain that there will be poor compliance with oral contraceptives, other contraceptive methods, or with abstinence. – H.T.
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