Verhütung und Gewichtszunahme

Contraceptives such as the pill, the three-month injection or the hormonal IUD are as much a part of everyday life for most women today as the weekly grocery shop or a visit to the gym. However, what is often overlooked is the fact that these are medicines that come with a variety of side effects. Above all, weight gain, which often occurs as a result of taking estrogen- and progestin-containing preparations, is a cause of concern for many women, because hardly anything is as depressing for female athletes in particular as the sudden swing on the scales. In this article, we will explain what weight gain in the context of contraception is all about and show you how to avoid this undesirable side effect.

How can hormone-based contraceptives affect your body weight?

Since hormones have been used in the context of contraception, many women complain about a noticeable increase in body weight, which is particularly the case in the first few months after taking a hormone-containing preparation for the first time. To reassure you, however, it should be mentioned that the extra pounds are not body fat, but water that is stored in the tissue. This is due to the action of the estrogen contained in many contraceptives, which promotes this storage in the intracellular and extracellular spaces. When the contraceptive pill conquered the western industrialized nations in the 1960s, however, much higher weight increases occurred than is currently the case, which can be justified on the basis of the fact that the products currently available contain significantly lower amounts of estrogen. In addition, leading pharmaceutical companies nowadays generally use so-called combination preparations which, in addition to estrogen, also contain progestins which curb the action of the estrogen and thus also the water retention that might be expected. Accordingly, weight fluctuations that go well beyond the deviations to be expected in the course of the natural menstrual cycle are clearly limited in most women. Ultimately, however, the extent of weight gain depends on the individual circumstances of the organism, since every body reacts differently to the supply of hormones.

How healthy or harmful are ingested hormones?

It is obvious that hormones should always be administered with caution and in close consultation with a physician, because in addition to contraception, both estrogens and progestins trigger or change numerous metabolic processes. Hormone doses such as those administered today normally lead to undesirable side effects only in rare cases. On the contrary, scientific studies suggest that combination preparations in particular significantly reduce the risk of occurrence of inflammatory abdominal diseases. In addition, on the basis of evaluated studies, scientists suspect that certain forms of cancer appear less frequently in the course of lower hormone intake. Nevertheless, in addition to possible water retention, many women have to struggle with unpleasant side effects such as an increased risk of thrombosis, rising blood pressure or the occurrence of migraines. The remedy is usually to switch to a different preparation, which should be determined in more detail in close correspondence with the gynecologist. A relatively rare side effect, which is not directly harmful but explains above-average weight gain, is increased appetite due to a very sensitive reaction of the organism to the supply of estrogen. In this context, changing the preparation is also a remedy, but if you are symptom-free with the exception of appetite, you should refrain from this step and focus on a - hopefully already - balanced and sports-oriented diet.

Which contraceptives cause weight gain and which do not?

Although the cases of severe side effects and excessive weight gain with the classic pill, which is heavily dominated by estrogens, remain within manageable limits, this does not mean that you have to accept them regardless. In recent years in particular, the pharmaceutical industry has developed numerous alternatives that reduce weight gain in particular to an acceptable minimum. In particular, completely estrogen-free contraceptives, such as contraceptive sticks, the three-month injection or the Kuper IUD, are suitable as adequate substitutes for avoiding water retention. The so-called "new mini-pill", which relies entirely on progestogen as the hormonal active ingredient, also leads to significantly less water retention. However, a slight weight gain of up to one kilogram cannot be completely ruled out.

Conclusion

Thanks to developments in the pharmaceutical industry, the weight gain to be expected as a result of using hormone-based contraceptives has been significantly reduced, so that you can generally be sure that you will only store water imperceptibly. Consequently, in the course of a negligible weight gain of around one kilogram, you should not expose yourself to the risk of forcing further hormonal changes in your body by changing the contraceptive. It is only advisable to reconsider the contraceptive you are currently using if the side effects are causing you a great deal of stress, as is the case with excessive water retention in the breasts or fingers.