Birth Control Methods: Birth Control Pills / Question
Published: April 30, 2002
Dear TeenHealthFX,
: I realize that if you are on birth control pills that it has a possibility to make you gain weight. I was wondering if for this same reason, it would make it harder for you to lose weight? I exercise regularly and I am trying to lower my weight. Do I have a disadvantage in this area while being on the pill?
Signed: Birth Control Pills & Weight Loss
Dear Birth Control Pills & Weight Loss,
TeenHealthFX is glad that you are taking an interest in improving your health habits and protecting yourself against pregnancy (and we cannot help ourselves by mentioning that we hope you are also protecting yourself against STDs with regular condom use!).
While it is true that a small number of people do gain a small amount of weight when using any hormone-containing birth control method (the pill, Norplant, Depo-Provera, etc.), the good news is that OCPs (oral contraceptive pills) today contain lower doses of estrogen which in turn lead to fewer side effects, including weight gain. Also studies suggest that although weight gain is the best-known side effect of OCPs, it actually is not as common as people believe.
Several studies found that low dose OCPs cause no weight gain among women using them over one year compared to women using non-hormonal methods. A study specifically in adolescents found that sexually active teens using OCPs were no more likely to gain weight than those using barrier methods (condoms). From another study, it was shown that there again was no association between OCP use and weight gain, and in the very small minority of patients that did gain weight (less than 7%), the weight gain was greater than or equal to 6 lbs and the largest proportion of women in this study remained within two lbs of their starting weight while others had either no weight change or even a weight loss.
So from this info, we can see that although weight gain can be associated with OCP use, it is less common than previously believed. Also there does not seem to be a direct association between low-dose estrogen pills and weight gain. Therefore, we think that the OCP is very unlikely to be making it more difficult for you to lose weight.
We do applaud you again for your interest in your health. Look at our answer to Appropriate Height and Weight check out if you really need to lose weight. Then check out Eating Healthy and Exercising for good information on how to eat and exercise in a healthy way.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
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