Researchers say early menstruation is linked to health problems later in life, so the period around puberty is a critical time for long-term well-being.
A new study suggests that girls with healthier diets are more likely to get their first period at a later age. Typically, girls begin puberty between the ages of 8 and 13, and they get their first period about two years after breast development starts.
But starting puberty and menstruation at earlier ages has been linked to health risks later in life, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer.
The new study aimed to discover how diet can affect the age at which girls begin menstruating. To do so, researchers followed more than 7,500 girls aged 9 to 14, tracking their diets and the timing of their menstruation. The results were published in the journal Human Reproduction.
Girls with the healthiest diets were 16% less likely to start menstruating at an early age than girls with the poorest diets.
Meanwhile, girls who ate the most inflammatory foods were 15% more likely to start menstruating earlier.
The results held true regardless of the girls’ BMI or height, “demonstrating the importance of a healthy diet independent of body size,” said Holly Harris, senior author of the study and an associate professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in the U.S., in a statement.
More research is needed to confirm the results
Dr. Imogen Roger, a researcher at Brighton & Sussex Medical School who was not involved in the study, cautioned against drawing too strong conclusions from the report, telling Euronews Health that:
“There is some potential for ‘reverse causation'” as “diet was mentioned around the time of menarche for most of the girls,” Roger said.
“There is evidence that diet quality declines from childhood to adolescence, so it’s possible that the timing of puberty is causing the ‘inflammatory’ diet, rather than the other way around.”
According to Roger, further research is needed to understand why diet and the timing of menstruation appear to be linked.
However, Harris noted that given the known health risks associated with early menstruation, it may be especially important to ensure that children have access to healthy foods around the time they begin puberty.
The findings, she said, underscore, the need for all children and adolescents to have access to healthy meal options, and the importance of school breakfasts and lunches being based on evidence-based guidelines.