Extra calories can help prevent menstrual disorders

​Exercising women who struggle to consume enough calories and have menstrual disorders can simply increase their food intake to recover their menstrual cycle, according to a study published by the Journal of the Endocrine Society, on March 31, 2020. The study found that exercising women with menstrual disorders can start menstruating again by consuming an additional 300-400 calories a day.

Many women strive to exercise for competitive and health-related reasons but may not be getting enough calories to support their exercise. So by consuming enough calories, exercising women with menstrual disorders can avoid complications associated with a condition known as the Female Athlete Triad. This is a medical condition that starts with inadequate food intake that fails to meet the body’s needs. It leads to menstrual disorders and poor bone health and it’s associated with a high incidence of stress fractures.

The study included 62 young exercising women, aged 26 with a BMI of 20.2 kg/ m2 with infrequent menstrual periods. Thirty-two women increased their calorie intake an average of 300-400 calories a day, and 30 maintained their exercise and eating habits for the 12-month study. Women who consumed the extra calories were twice as likely to have their menstrual period during the study compared with the women who maintained their regular exercise and eating routine.

These findings were set to encourage healthcare providers to try to help exercising women with menstrual disorders who consume too few calories to eat more, and this may help them to be healthier athletes and avoid bone complications. Thus, treatment plans designed to increase energy intake can be successful in reversing energetic suppression and recovering menses.

Interested in more information about the topic, Here’s where:

https://www.endocrine.org/-/media/endocrine/files/endo2020/abstracts/de-souza-abstract.pdf