Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2021 Oct 8;13(10):3526.
doi: 10.3390/nu13103526.

Dietary Intake, Eating Behavior, Physical Activity, and Quality of Life in Infertile Women with PCOS and Obesity Compared with Non-PCOS Obese Controls

Zheng Wang  1 , Henk Groen  2 , Astrid E P Cantineau  1 , Tessa M van Elten  3   4   5   6   7 , Matty D A Karsten  4   5   6   7 , Anne M van Oers  1 , Ben W J Mol  8 , Tessa J Roseboom  4   5   6   7 , Annemieke Hoek  1
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Dietary Intake, Eating Behavior, Physical Activity, and Quality of Life in Infertile Women with PCOS and Obesity Compared with Non-PCOS Obese Controls

Zheng Wang et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

To personalize lifestyle advice for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and obesity, detailed information regarding dietary intake, eating behavior, physical activity levels, and quality of life (QoL) may be useful. We aimed to investigate in a post-hoc cross-sectional analysis within a large multicenter randomized controlled trial in women with infertility whether there are significant differences in dietary intake (vegetables, fruits, sugary drinks, alcoholic beverages, savory snacks, and sweet snacks); eating behavior (emotional eating, external eating, and restricted eating); physical activity; and QoL between women with PCOS and obesity and non-PCOS obese controls. Participants were asked to complete the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), the Short QUestionnaire to ASsess Health-enhancing physical activity (SQUASH), and the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) at study entry (PCOS: n = 170; non-PCOS: n = 321, mean BMI: 36). Linear and binary (multinomial) logistic regressions were used, and the analyses were adjusted for age, waist-hip circumference ratio, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). No statistically significant differences in dietary intake or physical activity were observed between the two groups. The overall score of emotional eating was 34.6 ± 11.2 in the PCOS group and 34.1 ± 11.3 in the non-PCOS group (p = 0.11). QoL scores (physical and mental) did not differ between PCOS and non-PCOS women. These findings suggest that infertile women with PCOS and obesity and infertile non-PCOS obese controls do not have different dietary habits and have similar mental and physical QoL.

Keywords: PCOS; dietary intake; eating behavior; obesity; physical activity; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The department of obstetrics and gynecology of the UMCG received an unrestricted educational grant from Ferring Pharmaceuticals BV, The Netherlands. B.W.J.M. was supported by a NHMRC Investigator grant (GNT1176437). B.W.J.M. reports consultancy for Guerbet, has been a member of the ObsEva advisory board, and holds stock options for ObsEva. B.W.J.M. received research funding from Guerbet, Ferring, and Merck. ZonMw had no role in the data collection, analysis, interpretation of the data, or writing the report.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the participants who completed the FFQ and/or SQUASH at the baseline. PCOS: polycystic ovary syndrome, FFQ: food frequency questionnaire, and SQUASH: Short QUestionnaire to ASsess Health-enhancing physical activity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Azziz R., Carmina E., Chen Z., Dunaif A., Laven J.S., Legro R.S., Lizneva D., Natterson-Horowtiz B., Teede H.J., Yildiz B.O. Polycystic ovary syndrome. Nat. Rev. Dis. Primers. 2016;2:16057. doi: 10.1038/nrdp.2016.57. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lim S.S., Davies M.J., Norman R.J., Moran L.J. Overweight, obesity and central obesity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum. Reprod. Update. 2012;18:618–637. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dms030. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hoeger K.M., Oberfield S.E. Do women with PCOS have a unique predisposition to obesity? Fertil. Steril. 2012;97:13–17. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2011.11.026. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Robinson S., Chan S.P., Spacey S., Anyaoku V., Johnston D.G., Franks S. Postprandial thermogenesis is reduced in polycystic ovary syndrome and is associated with increased insulin resistance. Clin. Endocrinol. 1992;36:537–543. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2265.1992.tb02262.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hirschberg A.L., Naessén S., Stridsberg M., Byström B., Holtet J. Impaired cholecystokinin secretion and disturbed appetite regulation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Gynecol. Endocrinol. Off. J. Int. Soc. Gynecol. Endocrinol. 2004;19:79–87. doi: 10.1080/09513590400002300. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms