A Swedish thesis has trashed the commonplace notion that combined oral contraceptive pills (COCPs) cause weight gain, suggesting that birth control pills containing oestrogen and progesterone derivatives are a safe bet for women who don’t want to suffer from an unwanted side effect like obesity when on the pill.

1,749 Swedish women – born in a decade apart from 1962 to 1982 – were quizzed on contraception use, pregnancy, smoking habits and height-to-weight ratios by researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy of University of Gothenburg.

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