New Study: Injectable Contraception Leads to Obesity
A study by Drs. Abbey B. Berenson and Mahbubur Rahman of The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, has found women who use the injectable hormonal contraceptive DMPA (depot medroxyprogesterone acetate) experience a significant increase in body weight and fat, and the obesity may persist even after stopping DMPA use. The research , published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, involved 703 women who were beginning the use of either birth control pills or DMPA, and compared them to women who used a form of non-hormone contraception. Over the 3 year study period, DMPA users gained significantly more body fat than oral contraceptive (OC) and non-hormone (NH) contraception users, the researchers reported, adding that women of normal weight were found to gain much more body fat than women who were obese at the beginning of the study. Snip Mercedes Wilson, founder and president of the natural family planning (NFP) organization, Family for the Americas, observed tha...