What lifestyle changes can help manage PCOS?

Introduction

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age, characterized by reproductive, metabolic, and psychological dysfunctions. Lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise, and behavioral interventions, are often recommended as first-line treatments to manage symptoms and improve overall health outcomes.

Key Insights

Weight Management and Body Composition
- Lifestyle interventions, including diet and exercise, are effective in reducing weight, waist circumference, and body fat percentage in women with PCOS .
- Combining lifestyle changes with metformin can further reduce BMI and subcutaneous adipose tissue.
Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Health
- Exercise and lifestyle modifications improve insulin sensitivity and reduce fasting insulin levels .
- Lifestyle changes, particularly when combined with herbal medicine, can also lower insulin levels and improve glucose tolerance.
Reproductive Health
- Lifestyle interventions may improve ovulatory function and menstrual regularity, although more research is needed to confirm these effects .
- Combining lifestyle changes with herbal medicine has shown significant improvements in menstrual irregularities and pregnancy rates.
Hormonal Balance
- Lifestyle changes can reduce hyperandrogenism, as indicated by lower total testosterone and improved free androgen index (FAI) .
- Metformin combined with lifestyle changes can also lower testosterone levels.
Cardiovascular and Fitness Benefits
- Exercise improves cardiovascular fitness, as evidenced by increased VO2 max and reduced resting heart rate.
- Lifestyle interventions can lower total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, although the evidence quality varies.
Psychological Well-being
- Lifestyle changes, especially when combined with herbal medicine, can improve quality of life and reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Conclusion

Lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise, and behavioral interventions, are effective in managing PCOS by improving weight management, insulin sensitivity, reproductive health, hormonal balance, cardiovascular fitness, and psychological well-being. Combining these lifestyle changes with metformin or herbal medicine can offer additional benefits. However, more high-quality research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects and optimize treatment strategies.

What lifestyle changes can help manage PCOS?

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Lifestyle changes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Lifestyle interventions, including diet, exercise, and behavioral interventions, can improve reproductive, anthropometric, and metabolic outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Lifestyle changes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Lifestyle interventions, including diet, exercise, and behavioral interventions, may improve reproductive, anthropometric, metabolic, and quality of life factors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Combined Lifestyle and Herbal Medicine in Overweight Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): A Randomized Controlled Trial

Lifestyle intervention combined with herbal medicines is more effective and safe than lifestyle alone in overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Exercise, or exercise and diet for the management of polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Exercise combined with diet effectively improves metabolic health, lowers BMI, and reduces body fat percentage in women with PCOS compared to usual care and diet alone.

Lifestyle changes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Lifestyle interventions, including diet, exercise, and behavioral interventions, can improve reproductive, anthropometric, metabolic, and quality of life factors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Metformin and lifestyle modification in polycystic ovary syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Lifestyle modification combined with metformin can lead to lower BMI, subcutaneous adipose tissue, and improved menstruation in women with PCOS compared to lifestyle placebo over 6 months.

The role of lifestyle modification in polycystic ovary syndrome

Sustainable weight loss through dietary modification and exercise, along with modifying alcohol consumption, psychosocial stressors, and smoking, is crucial for long-term treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Treatment of obesity in polycystic ovary syndrome: a position statement of the Androgen Excess and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Society.

Lifestyle management is the primary treatment for metabolic complications in overweight and obese women with PCOS, with exercise potentially improving ovulatory function and pregnancy.

Effects of lifestyle modification in polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Lifestyle modification programs, focusing on behavioral management, dietary and exercise interventions, show potential in improving fertility outcomes and reducing diabetes and metabolic syndrome risk in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Optimizing Polycystic Ovarian Disorder (PCOD) Treatment with Personalized Lifestyle and Nutrition Strategies

Personalized lifestyle, diet, and supplement recommendations can improve well-being and reduce symptoms of polycystic ovarian disorder (PCOD).

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