Disordered Endocrine System After Taking Weight-Loss Pills Postpartum

 She Lost Weight After Childbirth but Disrupted Her Endocrine System

Among a group of overweight individuals, Ms. Lu, with her relatively slim figure, stood out strikingly. Was she also a patient at the obesity clinic? Ms. Lu shared her concerns: three months ago, she weighed 180 pounds. Desperate to shed the weight, she resorted to haphazard weight-loss methods, only to find her endocrine system thrown into disarray, with her menstrual cycle absent for three months.

At 26 years old, Ms. Lu’s weight had surged from 103 pounds before pregnancy to 180 pounds during it. Six months ago, she safely gave birth, and her weight dropped slightly. She had hoped to slim down naturally afterward, but three months later, her weight rebounded to around 180 pounds.

Out of options, Ms. Lu turned to weight-loss pills and extreme dieting—eating just an apple for lunch and two bananas for dinner. Following online weight-loss gurus, she even gave up her favorite dried tofu. In three months, she did lose weight, and friends remarked she looked like a different person. However, the consequences soon followed. Ms. Lu noticed her endocrine system was disrupted, with no menstrual periods for three months. Hearing about the obesity clinic, she sought a tailored treatment plan.

Professor Wang Zhihong from the Endocrinology Department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University explained that many women maintain similar eating habits postpartum as during pregnancy. However, with the placenta’s expulsion, placental hormones decline, metabolism slows, and excess energy accumulates as fat, leading to postpartum obesity.

How should postpartum obesity be addressed? Professor Wang emphasized that solutions depend on the mother’s specific weight and postpartum health indicators. Generally, a combination of dietary control and exercise suffices. She strongly cautioned against weight-loss pills or teas, as they disrupt normal metabolism. For breastfeeding mothers, such drugs are especially harmful, as most are excreted through breast milk, potentially impairing an infant’s liver detoxification function.