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Cited by 37Ovarian function and disordersReproductive Health and TechnologiesObesity and Health Practices

How to manage weight loss in women with obesity and PCOS seeking fertility?

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Hazlehurst, Jonathan M., Singh, Pushpa, Bhogal, Gurkiran, Broughton, Sophie, Tahrani, Abd A.·2022·Clinical Endocrinology
DOI 10.1111/cen.14726PMC PMC9541741
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Abstract

Obesity exacerbates the phenotype of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) including infertility as well as reducing the efficacy and access to fertility treatments. Weight management is, therefore, a key component of treatment for women with PCOS and coexistent obesity. Many women with PCOS describe significant difficulty losing weight and treatment options are limited. The first‐line treatment is lifestyle interventions though the weight loss and any impact on fertility are limited. No one dietary strategy can be preferentially recommended based on current evidence. While very low energy diets can result in significant weight loss the evidence for impact on fertility is limited. Pharmacotherapy, including a range of treatments can result in marked weight loss and there is some evidence of improved rates of conception including spontaneous and in response to assisted reproduction treatment. As with pharmacotherapy, data regarding bariatric surgery is largely from nonrandomized studies and though the significant weight loss is anticipated to improve fertility the available data prevents firm conclusions. Clinicians and patients must consider the magnitude of weight loss to be targeted as well as the anticipated fertility treatment required and the timeline of treatment when deciding upon the personalized weight loss strategy. Clinicians and patients should be confident in targeting the most appropriate treatment early in the patient's management to avoid unnecessary delays.

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  • Weight stigma and its detrimental psychological effects, as well as weight regain, compromise the efficacy of dietary strategies for weight reduction in women with PCOS.

    “While dietary strategies are effective for weight reduction in women who are overweight or obese, the widespread problem of weight stigma and its detrimental psychological effects, as well as weight regain, compromises their efficacy [2,5,6].”

    From Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Improving Metabolic Dysfunctions in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (2024) · cites this paper as [6]

    The Lifestyle Behavioural Interventions section reports that dietary and lifestyle approaches can reduce weight in women with PCOS, and Discussion: Our Views says most patients have likely experienced obesity stigma. Neither section says that stigma’s psychological effects compromise dietary efficacy. The paper mentions weight regain only after stopping pharmacotherapy, not after dietary strategies. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Research works printed but not linked: 29

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Hazlehurst, J. M., Singh, P., Bhogal, G., Broughton, S., & Tahrani, A. A.
Affiliations
  • University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
  • University of Birmingham (GB)
Corresponding author
Tahrani, Abd A.
ORCID
Venue
Clinical Endocrinology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2022-04-06
Volume
97
Issue
2
Pages
208-216
ISSN
  • 0300-0664 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2265
DOI
10.1111/cen.14726
PMC
PMC9541741
OpenAlex
W4220745740
Cited by
37
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6
FWCI
6.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Clinical Endocrinology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Reproductive Health and Technologies
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
Keywords
polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity, weight loss, female infertility, infertility treatment, lifestyle intervention, dietary intervention, very low calorie diet, pharmacotherapy, bariatric surgery, assisted reproduction, conception
MeSH terms
Female, Fertility, Humans, Life Style, Obesity, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Weight Loss

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