Las Palmas, April 2022. Hospiten Roca warns that obesity is a risk factor for gynecological diseases. The statement is extracted from a report in which the head of the Hospiten Roca Gynecology Service, Dr. Carlos Blanco-Soler, has collaborated. The report concludes that obesity is involved in some common gynecological diseases. Being very overweight can decrease fertility, make it difficult to get pregnant or increase the chance of having breast cancer during menopause.
Obesity is a global health problem that, in Spain, affects 14.5% of citizens. Specifically, 23.1% of the Canary population is obese and 35.1% is overweight, placing the region above the national average for obesity in the country as a whole.
In the case of the female population, this number rises to 17.5%. The condition can lead to other gynecological diseases that can seriously affect a woman’s health and can even cause fatal diseases. In fact, in women with polycystic ovaries, the number of cases can reach 70%.
Among other conclusions, the study addresses the body's difficulties absorbing the components of birth control pills, leading to women using higher doses and as a result, suffering more side effects.
In addition to this, if the woman’s intention is to become pregnant, an obese woman will have greater difficulties achieving a pregnancy, since high levels of insulin stimulate the production of androgens, which are converted into estrogens and have a negative effect on the reproductive system, causing " Menstrual disturbances and ovulatory dysfunction”.
Obesity before pregnancy can lead to complications during pregnancy like gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, the need for a cesarean section, dysfunctional delivery, induced labor, premature birth, or even genetic defects in the fetus or increased infant mortality.
The study concludes that "the prevalence of metabolic syndrome is maintained during menopause". This can cause an increase in insulin resistance, abdominal obesity or high blood pressure, among other conditions.
About the Hospiten Group
The Hospiten Group is an international healthcare network with 50 years of experience, committed to providing the highest quality service, and which has twenty private medical-hospital centers in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica and Panama and more than 100 outpatient centers under the brand Clinic Assist. The group is chaired by Dr. Pedro Luis Cobiella and attends more than 2,000,000 patients from all over the world every year with a workforce of more than 5,000 people.