All You Need To Know About PCOS

— Dr. Jayashree Sundar, Lead Consultant, MBBS, DGO, MRCOG (U.K.), Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital

Women take on multiple roles in today’s society. Some roles are by choice and other roles are being chosen for women. Women’s  roles  often include family obligations, caretaking for children and/or elderly parents and also work responsibilities as well with her  other roles

However, when God created women he created them with definitive hormonal phases all related to procreation. Many health issues are faced when they challenge this physiology.

Multiple factors which contributed to their health issues include stress, sleep deprivation, increased processed food with reduced physical activities with reduced support from family because of the nuclear families in cities.to sum up, we live in an era of Maids, Machines, Mobiles, Mental stress, Maggi, Mc Donald and Masterly inactivity.

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) affects one in every five women: a hormonal disorder, which causes enlarged ovaries with small cysts on the outer edges.

According to a study conducted by the department of endocrinology and metabolism (AIIMS), about 20-25 percent of Indian women of childbearing age are suffering from PCOS. While 60 % of women with PCOS are obese, 30-35 percent have a fatty liver.  70 % of PCOS women have insulin resistance leading to metabolic disturbance and glucose intolerance to a tune of 40-60 %. . 60-70% of these women have a high level of androgen.

PCOS women characteristically have symptoms of acne, coarse and excessive facial and body hair growth, obesity, subfertility and metabolic disturbances making them prone to uterine cancer at a later age.

PCOD is a lifestyle disorder so the cornerstone of management is lifestyle management, weight reduction and treatment as per the symptoms .regular exercise in the form of yoga, aerobics, dance, gymming (under supervision) is the key.

Diet management includes avoiding processed n junk foods, decreasing sugary items and simplifying the meals. We should be eating what our ancestors used to eat i.e., a sensible and sustainable diet with no shortcuts to metabolize the food which we are eating.

Meditation, regularising the sleep time and de-stressing by doing mundane activities help to reach the goal faster and lifestyle improvement. Optimal exercises for at least 150 minutes a week are recommended in initial phases and can be increased to 40 minutes daily can do wonders.

(Dr. Jayasree Sundar is a Gynecologist and Obstetrician in Malviya Nagar, Delhi and has an experience of 23 years in these fields.)