Can the quality of the diet in childhood influence the age of menstruation?

Girls who maintain a healthy diet tend to menstruate later than those who follow diets rich in ultra-processed products, according to a study recently published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction.

Menarche — a woman's first period — usually occurs between the ages of 9 and 15 and is considered a milestone in reproductive maturity. When it occurs early, it is associated with a greater future risk of obesity, breast cancer and other diseases related to prolonged exposure to sex hormones.

Although it is already known that being overweight contributes to early puberty, the new study shows that the type of diet influences this process independently of the body mass index (BMI).

According to the researchers, dietary patterns considered pro-inflammatory — rich in processed meats, refined sugar and trans fat — increase the risk of early menarche. On the other hand, diets composed of vegetables, whole grains, legumes and low consumption of processed foods were associated with a later onset of menstruation.

“Earlier menarche associated with an inflammatory diet may reflect mechanisms mediated by chronic inflammation and hormonal profile. A healthier diet, associated with later menarche, is in line with studies that indicate lower exposure to endogenous estrogens with diets rich in fiber, vegetables and whole grains,” analyzes gynecologist Mariano Tamura, from Einstein Hospital Israelita.

The authors reached their conclusion after analyzing the association between two dietary patterns and first bleeding in 7,500 girls ages 9 to 14 in the United States. They used data from the Growing Up Today Study , a long-term longitudinal study of the health and well-being of adolescents and young adults. The children completed questionnaires before they got their first period and every two to three years thereafter.

Depending on the type of diet, the diets were given scores and classified as healthy – those that included vegetables, legumes, whole grains, little processed meat and trans fat – or inflammatory, those rich in processed meat and refined sugar, among other items.

For Tamura, the well-controlled monitoring of a large and representative sample of adolescents is a strong point of the study. “However, the fact that it followed a predominantly white population in the United States does not allow for the complete generalization of the findings to other ethnic groups, as there may be unmeasured genetic or hormonal factors,” he ponders.

The results reinforce the importance of strategies to promote healthy eating during childhood and adolescence as a way of preventing chronic diseases in adulthood.

Source: Einstein Agency

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