Approximately 85% of women of reproductive age worldwide use birth control pills. These medications come with a range of side effects. However, researchers have recently identified another consequence linked to eating behavior.
A team of scientists from the University of Texas has discovered a connection between oral contraceptives and compulsive overeating. This eating disorder manifests as recurring, uncontrollable episodes of excessive food consumption. The study’s findings were published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Among birth control pills, there are “active” ones, taken for three weeks, and “inactive” ones, which are hormone-free. The experts set out to determine whether there is a relationship between taking hormonal pills and patterns in eating behavior.
The experiment involved 422 young women who were using oral contraceptives. Over the course of 49 days, they tracked their eating habits, noting instances of overeating triggered by negative emotions. It turned out that emotional overeating occurred most frequently on days when they took the pills.
The authors emphasize that the issue is not that the pills cause compulsive overeating; rather, in some women who already struggle with this problem, hormones exacerbate it.
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