Obese Girls Are at Higher Risk of Unintended Pregnancies Compared To Others

Understanding sexual behaviors by weight status among adolescents is critical because of the risk of dangerous outcomes for moms and babies.

Obese adolescents are significantly less likely to use contraception compared to their normal-weight peers, putting them at higher risk of unintended pregnancies, says a new study.

"Our findings suggest that obesity may be an important factor associated with adolescent women's sexual behavior," said lead author Tammy Chang, assistant professor of family medicine at University of Michigan Medical School in the US.

Now, Automatic Contraception Via a Chip
Birth control has now gone hi-tech after researchers at MicroCHIPS revealed that they have developed a new chip.

The researchers measured contraceptive use from a longitudinal study of 900 women ages 18-19 in Michigan.

"Understanding sexual behaviors by weight status among adolescents is critical because of the risk of dangerous outcomes for moms and babies associated with obesity," Chang said.

While differences in contraception use are significant between obese girls compared to their normal weight peers in the new study, researchers found no differences in other sexual behaviors, including number of partners, frequency of sex or length of relationships.

Survey Finds 20 Percent of Men may Not be Able to Purchase Emergency Contraception in New York City
In 20 percent of the cases, men searching for emergency contraception were turned away by their local pharmacies.

However, the authors noted that obese adolescents have been shown to differ from normal-weight peers in several ways, including having lower self-esteem -- which may hinder preparing for sex -- asking clinicians for contraceptives or obtaining contraception -- from a pharmacy.

One quarter of all US women become pregnant at least once by the age of 20.

Unwanted Pregnancies in India is Highest as Modern Contraception is Not Preferred
The World Health Organisation carried out a study to find if women in 35 low and middle-income countries use modern methods of contraception.

"Reducing adolescent pregnancy is a national public health priority and we need to understand which adolescents are at higher risk of pregnancy," Chang said.

The study appeared in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Iran Votes Against Contraception: Campaigns �More Children, Better Lives� To Increase Population
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has voted to ban permanent forms of contraception and birth control in a move to increase the country's population rate.

Source-IANS