Study Links Childhood Obesity to Earlier Onset of Periods in Women

A recent study conducted on over 70,000 women in the United States has uncovered a concerning link between early menstruation in young girls and childhood obesity. This correlation raises the risk of various adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to the findings.

A study led by Harvard University's School of Public Health has revealed a concerning shift in the average age of first menstruation among women. According to the research published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, the average age has decreased from 12.5 years for women born between 1950 and 1969 to 11.9 years for those born between 2000 and 2005.

This trend is particularly pronounced among women from racial minority groups such as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or mixed race, as well as those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The study marks the first comprehensive analysis of menstrual trends across different racial and social demographics, providing valuable insights into this evolving aspect of women's health.

According to a report of PTI, Continuing to investigate early menarche and its drivers is critical, said corresponding author Zifan Wang, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard's School of Public Health.

"Early menarche is associated with higher risk of adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, he said. To address these health concerns, which our findings suggest may begin to impact more people, with disproportionate impact on already disadvantaged populations, we need much more investment in menstrual health research," Wang said.

The study also highlighted a delay in the regularization of menstrual cycles, with only 56 percent of women born between 2000 and 2005 reporting regular periods within two years after their first menstruation. In contrast, 76 percent of those born between 1950 and 1969 experienced regular cycles within the same timeframe.

Utilizing data from the Apple Women's Health Study, which boasts a diverse dataset, researchers examined 71,341 women enrolled between November 2018 and March 2023. Among this cohort, approximately 62,000 participants self-reported the duration it took for their menstrual cycles to stabilize, while another subset provided their body mass index (BMI) at the onset of their first period.