Overweight, obesity and central obesity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUNDPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is closely associated with obesity but the prevalence of obesity varies between published studies. The objective of this research was to describe the prevalence of overweight, obesity and central obesity in women with and without PCOS and to assess the confounding effect of ethnicity, geographic regions and the diagnostic criteria of PCOS on the prevalence.