Weight change with oral contraceptive use and during the menstrual cycle. Results of daily measurements.

ABSTRACT

PIP: Although weight gain has been identified as the most common single reason for discontinuing oral contraceptive (OC) use, the few studies that have addressed this issue have found little or no OC-related weight change. The present study analyzed the daily weights of 128 US women, 18-35 years of age, over the course of 4 cycles of use of a triphasic OC (Tri-Norinyl). The mean weight change between study start and completion was 0.0 pounds. 52% of study participants experienced no weight change (defined as remaining within 2 pounds of their starting weight) and an additional 33% experienced a gain or loss of less than 5 pounds. Overall, 72% of subjects had either no weight gain or lost weight. These results did not differ for the various age, race, and parity groupings. Analysis of daily weight measurements indicated that women tended to gain a small amount of weight (about one-half pound) during the first few weeks of each treatment cycle and to lose approximately the same amount during menstruation. Thus, at least some change in weight blamed on OC use may be attributable to normal cyclic fluctuations. Contraceptive counseling should stress the fact that the empirical research has failed to document weight gain as a side effect of OC use.