title: Impact of obesity on women's health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review the impacts of obesity on women's reproductive health and fertility.
  
  
  METHODS
  Literature review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty articles are referenced. The number of patients evaluated in each of the studies varies from 33 to 213,208.
  
  
  METHODS
  Articles were identified from an Ovid/Medline search using the search terms obesity, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, contraception, miscarriage, infertility, and weight loss.
  
  
  METHODS
  The impacts of obesity on reproductive health and fertility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Obesity is associated with early puberty, aberrant menstrual patterns, decreased contraceptive efficacy, ovulatory disorders, an increased miscarriage rate, and worse assisted reproductive technology outcomes. Losing weight can ameliorate many of these problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity is one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Providers must educate patients about the impacts of obesity on reproductive health and fertility.
authors.affiliation: Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachuestts, USA.
authors.forename: Marcy Maguire
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lash
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Armstrong
mesh_terms: D003267:Contraception; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D008598:Menstruation; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011627:Puberty; D018456:Reproductive Medicine; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D016387:Women's Health