Plan B may still be effective for overweight women

Last fall, a European drug "identical" to Plan B One-Step, Norlevo, was found to be less effective in heavier women. Naturally, Americans wondered if the same was true for Plan B, since 23 percent of American women aged 20 to 44 are obese. A new report, however, states that emergency contraceptives are effective for women of any weight.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) requested a warning for Norlevo last year, stating that it may be less effective in women with BMIs over 25. Now, however, the EMA is stating that emergency contraceptives are effective in pregnancy prevention, regardless of weight. The EMA now claims that there "isn't enough data to support the previous warning to women about weight," Time reports.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has currently not issued similar warnings about Plan B's effectiveness in heavier women. According to Time, the EMA found that the earlier studies on Norlevo's effectiveness were "not substantial enough to conclude that the contraceptives' effect was decreased with increased body weight."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The EMA has recommended that Norlevo remove the current weight warning from its packaging, but it also suggests including study results about "potentially reduced effects in heavier women."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
Ukraine goes all out to woo young people into the army
Under The Radar New recruitment drive offers perks as morale and numbers fall
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
6 spa-like homes with fabulous bathrooms
Feature Featuring a freestanding soaking tub in California and a digital shower system in Illinois
By The Week Staff Published
-
Tessa Bailey's 6 favorite books for hopeless romantics
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Lyla Sage, Sally Thorne, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Scientists report optimal method to boil an egg
Speed Read It takes two temperatures of water to achieve and no fancy gadgets
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Europe records big leap in renewable energy
Speed Read Solar power overtook coal for the first time
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Blue Origin conducts 1st test flight of massive rocket
Speed Read The Jeff Bezos-founded space company conducted a mostly successful test flight of its 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US won its war on 'murder hornets,' officials say
Speed Read The announcement comes five years after the hornets were first spotted in the US
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark energy data suggest Einstein was right
Speed Read Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of general relativity has been proven correct, according to data collected by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New DNA tests of Pompeii dead upend popular stories
Speed Read An analysis of skeletal remains reveals that some Mount Vesuvius victims have been wrongly identified
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off, seeking an ocean
Speed Read The ship is headed toward Jupiter on a yearslong journey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Detailed map of fly's brain holds clues to human mind
Speed Read This remarkable fruit fly brain analysis will aid in future human brain research
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published