Do women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) have more difficulty losing weight?

We have recently been following a lot of women with PCOS. About half of PCOS sufferers are overweight. It is very likely that a woman who has PCOS will experience a slower rate of weight loss than others without the condition.

We have begun to recommend Xenical more often for our patients with PCOS. For one, weight loss is almost always better when people add weight loss medication to a program. For another, insulin resistance is an important component of PCOS. Xenical can help minimize that. And finally, given that many people with PCOS have a high cholesterol level, we suspect that they also have difficulty in metabolizing fat. By removing some of the fat in the diet, weight loss should be more successful.

Clinically, adding Xenical to a program for a woman with PCOS appears to help. It has not been studied sufficiently but, as we see more women with PCOS, we will gather more information on their results.