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
. 2022 Jul 22:4:940945.
doi: 10.3389/frph.2022.940945. eCollection 2022.

The impact of a group based, remotely delivered weight loss intervention in women with polycystic ovary syndrome on ovulation, quality of life and body composition

Anna M Gorczyca  1 , Felicia L Steger  2 , Lauren T Ptomey  1 , Robert N Montgomery  3 , Riley Mickelsen  4 , Patricia Smith  1 , Joseph E Donnelly  1 , Courtney A Marsh  4
Affiliations

The impact of a group based, remotely delivered weight loss intervention in women with polycystic ovary syndrome on ovulation, quality of life and body composition

Anna M Gorczyca et al. Front Reprod Health. .

Abstract

Background: Obesity and visceral adiposity are associated with anovulation. The most common cause of anovulatory infertility in women of reproductive age is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We conducted this formative study to examine the effects of a remotely delivered, group-based lifestyle program for women with overweight/obesity and PCOS on ovulation, PCOS related quality of life (PCOSQ) and body composition.

Methods: Women with anovulatory infertility caused by PCOS (N = 12) were enrolled in a 6-month high-intensity weight management intervention. Participants were asked to attend 45 min., group behavioral lifestyle sessions, delivered remotely by a registered dietitian weekly across the 6-mo. study and comply with a reduced energy diet, increased physical activity (225 min/wk.), and self-monitoring of weight, physical activity and diet. Diets consisted of five portion-controlled meals (three shakes + two entrees), at least five servings of fruits/vegetables, and ad libitum non-caloric beverages daily. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess changes in outcomes across the intervention.

Results: Twelve women received the weight loss intervention (mean age = 32.7 ± 4.2 yrs., BMI = 36.8 ± 4.5 kg/m2, 92% college educated), and 8 completed the intervention. Eight (67%) women reported ovulating during the intervention with an average time to ovulation of 57 ± 45 days. Women lost an average of 3.85 ± 5.94 kg (p = 0.02), decreased their BMI (-1.61 ± 1.09 kg/m2; p = 0.04), and waist circumference (-4.54 ± 3.03 cm; p = 0.04) over the 6-mo. intervention. Additionally, self-reported menstrual problems measured by PCOSQ significantly improved over the study (p = 0.03).

Conclusion: A multicomponent group-based, remotely delivered, lifestyle intervention delivered remotely is a feasible and potentially scalable option to achieve clinically relevant (>3%) weight loss in women with PCOS.

Clinical trial registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT03677362.

Keywords: obesity; ovulation; polycystic ovary syndrome; quality of life; weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ovulation rates via OPK across weight loss intervention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Azziz R, Marin C, Hoq L, Badamgarav E, Song P. Health care-related economic burden of the polycystic ovary syndrome during the reproductive life span. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. (2005) 90:4650–8. 10.1210/jc.2005-0628 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rotterdam EA-SPCWG. Revised 2003 consensus on diagnostic criteria and long-term health risks related to polycystic ovary syndrome. Fertil Steril. (2004) 81:19–25. 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2003.10.004 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moran LJ, Misso ML, Wild RA, Norman RJ. Impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome in polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update. (2010) 16:347–63. 10.1093/humupd/dmq001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Diamanti-Kandarakis E, Dunaif A. Insulin resistance and the polycystic ovary syndrome revisited: an update on mechanisms and implications. Endocr Rev. (2012) 33:981–1030. 10.1210/er.2011-1034 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Teede HJ, Joham AE, Paul E, Moran LJ, Loxton D, Jolley D, et al. . Longitudinal weight gain in women identified with polycystic ovary syndrome: results of an observational study in young women. Obesity. (2013) 21:1526–32. 10.1002/oby.20213 - DOI - PubMed

Associated data