Weight As a Predictor of Contraceptive Use Among US Adult Males

BACKGROUND In addition to the physiological health consequences of excess weight, obese individuals in the United States are often faced with culturally defined limitations on their reproductive lives. While significant work has been done to characterize the effects of weight on female contraceptive patterns, our understanding of its association with male contraceptive choices remain limited. METHODS Using data from the U.S National Survey of Family Growth 2006-2010, we attempted to quantify the relationship between a man’s Body Mass Index (BMI) and his decision to use contraception. Our study population was limited to sexually active, non-sterile men aged 20-44 years. We further excluded couples who were pregnant or actively trying to get pregnant. The final sample of 5178 respondents was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression to control for potential confounders of the association. These include socio-demographic descriptors (age, race/ethnicity, religion and poverty status) and indicators of sexual and reproductive histories (number of sexual partners and nature of relationship with last partner) RESULTS In bivariate analysis, an increase in BMI above the recommended healthy range was shown to be strongly associated with contraceptive non-use at last intercourse ((odds ratio [OR] 1.14 [p value <0.001]). However upon adjusting for confounders this association proves to be non-linear. In multivariate models, the association between weight and contraceptive non-use is not significant among those who are marginally overweight or extremely obese (odds ratio [OR] 1. 08[95% CI 0.95–1.22]) (odds ratio [OR] 0.96 [95% CI 0.71–1.29] respectively). Meanwhile men with BMI of between 30kg/m2 and 35 kg/m2 remained less likely to use contraception than their normal weight peers (odds ratio [OR] 1.26 [95% CI 1.02–1.55]). DISCUSSION As the number of overweight and obese persons continues to raise so too does the need to appreciate the dynamics of weight and the sociological contexts in which it acts.