@ursinefutchass guess what else is linked endometrial cancer, type 2 diabetes and hypertension?
OBESITY!
(And lifestyle choices linked to obesity)
To anyone suffering with PCOS I am sorry, I’m not trying to downplay how horrible it is and I wish there was an easier answer to it than weight loss (if you do have excess fat) and taking oestrogen. Weight loss isn’t recommended because doctors hate fat people (though I know it can feel that way), it’s because elevated levels of androgens can cause PCOS and visceral fat produces androgens. Of course genetics play a role, but these genes influence the type of PCOS someone might develop: someone who has generally higher reproductive hormones and someone with a higher BMI. I know a lot of people who don’t want to go on oestrogen for their PCOS and improved their symptoms through weight loss, I’ve dealt with milder symptoms myself that have largely improved too.
Endometrial cancer:
Hypertension:
This is coming from someone who had elevated blood pressure when they were obese and now has very normal blood pressure when overweight. Having a larger body relative to your heart means that it has to work harder to support. It doesn’t matter if you have more muscle or fat, more tissue can lead to higher pressure. Plus visceral fat creates intra-abdominal pressure causing elevated blood pressure.
Type 2 diabetes:
At a very basic level your body responds to consistently heightened blood sugar by producing insulin to encourage glucose into tissues that use it. But if insulin is consistently heightened then your cells can grow accustomed and develop resistance, creating a vicious cycle of hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance this can eventually lead to diabetes if left untreated or unmanaged. Plus, considering that 1 in 3 adults in the US have prediabetes when combined with obesity (when considering fat as hormonally active) someone becomes much more likely to develop T2 diabetes. There definitely is more to it as it is a multi-factorial condition such as the lack of exercise, the effect of triglycerides and genetics but it doesn’t negate the link between obesity and type 2 diabetes.
I’m not saying that weight loss is the cure to all health issues or that healthy-weight people can’t have these conditions but losing excess adipose tissue can improve your chances of avoiding them.