When you first get your period, it can take a while for your cycles to become regular as your hormones even out. Within the first couple years of the onset of menstruation, your cycles should become fairly regular. But, no matter how predictable your periods are, if your hormones get out of whack, you may experience subsequent irregularity. Common causes of hormone imbalance include stress, illness or extreme weight loss due to eating disorders or intense athletic training.
Causes of Weight Loss
Extreme weight loss that significantly lowers a woman's body fat percentage can lead to irregular periods. According to the American Council on Exercise, women require an essential fat amount of 10 to 13 percent, and even the leanest female athletes should retain a body fat percentage of between 14 and 20 percent. A number of conditions can cause a woman's body fat to drop into a range that is no longer healthy.
Eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia can lead to extreme weight loss. Anorexia displays itself in extreme calorie restriction, while individuals with bulimia tend to binge eat, then purge the food by vomiting or taking laxatives.
Similarly, athletes or individuals involved in intense exercise can consistently burn off more calories than they consume, leading to extensive weight loss.
Often, eating disorders and intense exercise are combined, leading to fast and extreme weight loss.
Female Athlete Triad
The Female Athlete Triad is a disorder that combines intense exercise, restrictive eating, irregular menstrual cycles and bone loss. When a female's body fat percentage drops below her essential body fat percentage due to intense exercise and restrictive eating, hormonal changes can take place that affect the thyroid and sex hormones. When this happens, periods may become irregular or stop altogether. These hormones also affect the body's ability to uptake calcium into the bones, leading to bone degeneration. In severe cases young women may even develop osteoporosis due to the extent of bone loss experienced. Because of the stress these women place on their bones during bouts of exercise, they often experience stress fractures in their extremities.
Identifying the Condition
Skipping or missing periods for reasons other than a pregnancy generally indicates that something's "off" in your body. If you have always experienced regular periods, but have started noticing cycle irregularities in conjunction with your weight loss, check with your doctor. Common risk factors that lead to the Female Athlete Triad include: participating in competitive athletics, exercising more than is required for your sport, missing out on social functions in order to train, participating in a sport that focuses on body weight, and being pushed by your parents or coach to extreme competition. Some identifying signs of the Female Athlete Triad, apart from weight loss and irregular periods include: stress fractures, fatigue, eating disorders and excessive exercise.
Prevention/Solution
Knowledge and awareness are the best options for prevention and solution of weight loss induced amenorrhea. Unfortunately, some young girls may like missing their periods, or may talk to their teammates or friends about the benefit of losing a lot of weight. If you have a solid knowledge of proper nutrition, the detrimental effects of disorders like the Female Athlete Triad and the importance of essential body fat, you can recognize potential risk factors in yourself and your friends. If you think you may be experiencing irregular periods due to weight loss, talk to your doctor about treatment options. He may suggest counseling in addition to a healthy diet and moderate levels of exercise.
Considerations
Women involved in "show" sports like gymnastics, diving, dance and cheerleading are particularly susceptible to developing irregular periods due to weight loss. Long-distance runners may also have an increased susceptibility due to the potential benefit of improved running times with a low body weight. If you are involved in this type of sport, be especially vigilant about maintaining a healthy body weight and eating a well-balanced diet.
