Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common health issue these days. It affects 6-10% of women of childbearing age. Women with PCOS have issues with irregular periods, hormonal imbalances, and metabolic problems. And what’s one of the major factors that’s linked to PCOS?

Obesity.

According to studies, over 80% of women with PCOS are overweight or obesity. So this directly indicates that excess weight affects the body in ways and is not just linked to type 2 diabetes, heart problems, sleep apnea and more.

Let’s understand how obesity leads to PCOS.

However, the relationship between obesity and PCOS is not simple. But the fact is, both conditions can make each other worse.

How Obesity and PCOS Make Each Other Worse

Obesity alone doesn’t cause PCOS. But it can make it worse in women who are more likely to get it because of genetic tendencies or other reasons.

Insulin Resistance

Extra weight, especially around the belly, makes their body less sensitive to insulin. 

Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. When the body doesn’t respond well to insulin, the pancreas makes even more insulin to keep blood sugar normal. 

When there is too much insulin in the body, it stimulates the ovaries to make more male hormones, which can cause or worsen PCOS.

High Androgen Levels

Excess weight or obesity leads to the release of male hormones androgens. While these high male hormone levels alone don’t cause PCOS, they can make it worse. 

This can mess up the ovaries, causing problems like irregular periods and not ovulating, which are common in PCOS.

Genetic Link

Some women are susceptible to PCOS because of their genetic tendencies. In such cases, gaining weight, especially during their teen years, can make PCOS show up. Extra weight can make the signs of PCOS more noticeable.

Metabolic Problems

When obesity and PCOS happen together, they can lead to other health problems, like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. These problems can make PCOS symptoms worse.

The Impact of Obesity on Fertility

Obesity is one of the major risk factors for infertility. Women with a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) are more likely to have problems with ovulation. 

With obesity, a woman’s body makes more fat tissue. Fat tissue produces extra estrogen. It’s a hormone that helps control the menstrual cycle. Too much estrogen can confuse the body and cause it to stop ovulating. That means the ovaries don’t release eggs regularly. 

This is called anovulatory infertility. 

In women with PCOS, being overweight lowers the chances of getting pregnant naturally and also reduces the success rates of fertility treatments like In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Higher body fat can affect the quality of eggs and the lining of the uterus, making it harder for a fertilized egg to implant and grow.

How Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery Can Help with PCOS

Metabolic and weight loss surgery is a highly effective procedure in managing PCOS, especially for women who have been struggling with obesity. 

In many cases, women are stuck in a vicious cycle and cannot exercise and diet because of their health conditions.

And this further worsens their weight problem. And if you are already suffering, or at a high risk of other serious conditions like type 2 diabetes, or heart problems, then metabolic and weight loss surgery is an effective solution.

Dr. Shashank Shah is one of the best  metabolic and weight loss surgeons and has helped many women improve their health and fertility. 

Here’s how metabolic surgery can make a difference:

Improving Insulin Sensitivity: One of the key benefits of metabolic surgery is that it helps the body use insulin more effectively. 

After surgery, insulin levels drop, which in turn reduces the production of male hormones. This is crucial for restoring ovulation and helping women with PCOS regain regular menstrual cycles.

Normalizing Hormone Levels: Metabolic surgery helps reduce excess weight, which leads to a more balanced hormone profile. When hormone levels are balanced, women with PCOS are more likely to experience regular periods and ovulation, making it easier to conceive.

Improving Egg and Embryo Quality: Excess weight can negatively affect the quality of eggs and embryos, making it harder for a woman to get pregnant. Research indicates that even losing about 5 kg (11 lbs) can lead to better outcomes in terms of implantation rates, clinical pregnancies, and live births among women with PCOS.

Boosting Fertility Treatment Success: Obesity can reduce the effectiveness of fertility treatments like ovulation induction and IVF. Studies have shown that losing around 10% of body weight can improve pregnancy and live birth rates in overweight women seeking fertility help. Even small reductions in weight can help restore normal ovulation and menstrual cycles.

Real-Life Success Stories with Dr. Shashank Shah

Many women with PCOS have successfully managed their symptoms and improved their fertility outcomes through weight loss surgery under the care of Dr. Shashank Shah. 

His expertise in metabolic surgery has helped numerous patients achieve significant weight loss, restore regular periods, and increase their chances of having a baby.  For example, women who have undergone weight loss surgery have reported more regular menstrual cycles, improved insulin levels, and higher success rates with fertility treatments.

Why Consult Dr. Shashank Shah for Weight Loss Surgery?

Dr. Shashank Shah is a highly respected surgeon specializing in metabolic and weight loss surgery. 

He understands the unique challenges faced by women with PCOS and offers personalized treatment plans to help them achieve their health and fertility goals. 

His approach is not just about surgery but also about providing comprehensive care, including dietary guidance, exercise plans, and ongoing support. Long-Term Health Benefits

Metabolic surgery does more than just help with weight loss. It also provides long-term health benefits by reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other metabolic disorders. 

For women with PCOS, these benefits are particularly important because they help manage the condition more effectively and reduce the risk of long-term health complications.

If you are struggling with PCOS and obesity, consulting with Dr. Shashank Shah could be the first step towards better health and a successful pregnancy.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is the force with which the blood pushing against the artery wall is too high. Any blood pressure above a mark of 140/90 is called blood pressure and above 180/120 is called severe. The significant rise in obesity is found to have a direct correlation to risk of high blood pressure. Obesity and hypertension together can give rise to an array of health issues and challenges there by affecting health, quality of life and life expectancy. Apart from just weight and obesity the fat distribution is also an important factor that plays a major role. Abdominal Obesity or central obesity around the waist circumference is the influencing factor for developing hypertension.

Hypertension and Obesity have a major impact on both the following systems.

• 1. Cardiovascular Diseases: When a person is over-weight or obese, the body requires pumping more effort thereby working harder to pump blood through the body. This puts more strain on the arteries and when this strain is resisted it causes the blood pressure to rise. Thus, obesity and hypertension together are one of the top reasons forcardiovascular diseases.
• 2. Kidney Dysfunction: When a person is overweight or obese and has high blood pressure, this excess pressure damages the vessels in the kidneys by thickening them thereby affecting the blood flow. This affects the kidneys main function of removing the waste and fluids.

Obesity, Hypertension and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Snoring is the most common sign of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). In people who are overweight or obese snoring and eventually sleep apnoea is one of the most common co-occurring problem. In obese people the fat deposits in the chest and waist circumference or central obesity causes the lungs to get compressed thereby restricting the airflow thereby dropping the oxygen saturation. People who have chronic sleep apnoea experience sudden drop in their oxygen levels thereby increasing the blood flow and putting a pressure on the blood vessels which increases the blood pressure. This kind of a situation can be a silent killer as they could lead to serious complications like stroke or heart attack.

Is there a solution that can treat all these problems?

Bariatric Surgery can be a treatment for all these health problems all in one go. Bariatric surgery brings about a significant and long-term change in the weight and also brings about a significant drop in the blood pressure levels. As the person starts losing weight, the pressure on the heart to work hard and to pump more blood reduces, thereby reducing the strain on the arteries which in turn reduces the blood pressure. Once there is reduction in the blood pressure, the pressure on the small vessels going to the kidneys will reduce and will enhance the functioning of the kidneys.

Similarly, with the significant reduction in weight, waist circumference and reduction of fat deposits in the neck and chest region would open up the lungs that are compressed, improve the oxygen saturation and reduce the blood pressure caused due to the drop in oxygen saturation.

Thus one treatment can break the vicious cycle, improve health and quality of life.

Currently India has the third highest number of obese patients in the world after USA and China. Also, India has the second highest number of patients with diabetes after China. With this staggering growth in the number of obese as well as diabetics in the India both these health problems have become a major and ever lasting impact on the economy and health status.

Is there a correlation between Obesity and Diabetes?

It is estimated that about 60-90% patients with Type II Diabetes are also obese with a BMI more than 30kg/m2 in India. In Indians the fat percentage is much higher than the muscle mass. With more of central or visceral obesity ie, around the waist and abdomen patients with a BMI of as low as 23kg/m2 Indiansare also prone to developing diabetes. It is this high fat percentage and low muscle mass in the body that makes the person more prone to developing hyperinsulinemia thereby increasing their risk for type II Diabetes and also progressively leading to failure of the pancreatic cells. In obese patients these free fat cells around the muscles, abdomen and liver lead to a cytokine storm thereby leading to insulin-resistance and excess inflammation.

How can it be treated?

Lifelong and sustained weight loss through lifestyle modifications is the appropriate treatment for obesity and diabetes. But in patients who are overweight or obese (BMI >28kg/m2) with diabetes, the metabolism of the person is affected in such a way that following a diet and exercising and maintaining that weight becomes impossible. In such patients a treatment that will only help with the weight loss but also treat their diabetes is the most appropriate form of treatment.

So then, is there a cure?

Bariatric Surgery

Metabolic or Bariatric surgery for Type II Diabetes is now a treatment approved by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) as a scientific treatment for remission or cure of Type II Diabetes.

Who can undergo this surgery?

In Indians and Asians since the fat percentage is much higher than their western counterparts, anyone who is above a BMI of more than 28kg/m2 along with Type II Diabetes is an ideal patient to undergo bariatric and metabolic surgery. In patients with Obesity and Diabetes it is a dual burden.

How does surgery work?

Almost all patients who undergo bariatric surgery show a significant improvement in their diabetic status. The dual benefit of bariatric surgery is such that it induces weight loss thereby treating obesity but along with that there is a significant change in hormones and metabolism of the blood glucose which is independent of the weight loss.

Surgery has shown to improve diabetic status in almost 90% patients by reducing their blood sugar levels, reducing the medicine dose that they required as well as improving the health problems arising out of diabetes. In 78% of the patients there is improvement in blood sugar levels along with elimination of all anti diabetic medications.

In a study titled ‘Gastric Bypass vs. Medical/Lifestyle Care for Type 2 Diabetes in South Asians’ Dr Shashank Shah was the first surgeon to be awarded the Vivian Fonseca Award by the American Diabetes Association for surgical treatment of Type II Diabetes. In the study two group of patients, one undergoing surgical treatment and the other on medical and lifestyle management alone were compared way back in 2006 and it was found the efficacy of bariatric surgery much more as patients with uncontrolled diabetes who underwent surgery achieved total disease remission compared to the medical arm which continued to be on medicines.