Jan. 19, 2011 According to research conducted at the Oregon
National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science
University, the commonly held belief that oral contraceptives
cause weight gain appears to be false. The results of the study
are published online and will appear in next month's edition of
the journal Human Reproduction. "A simple Google search will
reveal that contraceptives and the possibility that they may
cause weight gain is a very highly debated topic," said Alison
Edelman, M.D., a physician and researcher in the Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology at OHSU and lead author of the study.
"Issues surrounding weight are hard to study in humans, and the
research thus far has been insufficient to demonstrate whether
or not oral contraceptives cause weight gain or loss. But this
is an extremely important question as concern about weight gain
is one of the main reasons why women may avoid or discontinue
birth control, which in turn places them at greater risk for an
unplanned pregnancy."