First Reader- Women Problems!! (not to offend)

In the article Impaired Reproductive Function in Women in Western and “Westernizing” Populations, Tessa M. Pollard and Nigel Unwin analyzes the effects that high and increasing levels of obesity and insulin resistance and insulin in Western and Westernizing populations have on a women’s ability to reproduce. They found that high insulin levels have a negative effect for a women’s ability to reproduce by causing reduced fecundity. They also found that high levels of insulin correlates with irregular menstrual cycles, hyperandrogenism, and that the increase in insulin is associated with obesity that may cause type II Diabetes. As a final note the author mentioned that women with hyperinsulinemia in these societies increase their chances of reproductive cancer.

Before reading this chapter the only thing I knew that correlated with high levels of insulin was obesity. I never thought of how it may reflect on a women’s ability to reproduce, among the other things mentioned. I read a section in the chapter that also talked about the effects that obesity has on women and their women problems, it said that it can cause infrequent menstrual cycles or remove a women’s ability to have menstrual cycles. I’m not sure how a women’s body works, but I thought that the menstrual cycles were a way of cleansing a women and if it is does, does that mean that most women who are obese and have an absence in menstruation not get cleansed? And if so what other problems could that bring?