Objective:
The objective of this study was to assess energy expenditure and the anthropometric profile of women during the first year of use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate contraception.
Methods:
This prospective study included healthy non-obese women who had never used depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate and did not have a history of weight fluctuations. The women were divided into two groups composed of 28 depot medroxyprogesterone acetate users and 24 copper intrauterine device (TCu380A) users. They were paired for age (+1 year) and body mass index (+1 kg/m2). The following variables were used: sociodemographic characteristics (age, ethnicity, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, economic class, and education level), weight (kg), body max index, resting and total energy expenditure, waist and hip circumferences (cm), and waist-to-hip ratio.
Results:
The age of the women studied ranged from 20-39 years. The mean values of age/body mass index ratio were 29.6 (SD=+5.2) years/23.9 (+3.6 kg/m2) in the depot medroxyprogesterone acetate group and 28.6 (SD=+5.2) years/24.5 (+2.7 kg/m2) in the intrauterine device group. After conducting repeated measures analysis of variance, the users of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate showed weight gain of 2.2 kg, and those in the intrauterine device group showed weight loss of 0.2 kg without statistically significant difference between the groups. There were no significant differences between the other variables.
Conclusion:
There were no changes in weight, anthropometric measurements, and energy expenditure in the young and healthy women during the first year of use of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate contraception. Guidelines and recommendations for a healthy lifestyle to avoid changes in the anthropometric measurements are important for weight control in users of contraceptive methods.
Antropometry; Contraception; Energy metabolism; Medroxyprogesterone; Body weight
