Relationship Between Percent Body Fat and Menstrual Patterns In Athletes and Nonathletes

What we do and do not know about the menstrual cycle or, questions scientists could be asking

“…In general, amenorrheic runners weigh less, have lower weight-to-height ratios, have less body fat, and report more weight loss than other runners or nonrunner controls (Dale et al, 1979;Speroff and Redwine, 1980;Schwartz et al, 1981;Shangold and Levine, 1982;Galle et al, 1983;Glass et al, 1987;Feicht et al, 1978;Ouellette et al, 1986). The most definitive study used hydrostatic methods to compare the body composition of 14 athletes who had had no menses for three months with 28 athletes who had menstrual cycles of 23-35 days (Carlberg et al, 1983).…”

“…(3) relative increases in hormones; or (4) the effect of change in gonadotropin levels, more frequent sampling coupled with hormonal data will be critical. <3 cycles per year <4 cycles per year Boehm and Salerno, 1973Drew, 1961Oian et al, 1984Galle et al, 1983Shangold and Levine, 1982;Wakat et al, 1982Frisch et al, 1980Pettersson et al, 1973;Shortridge, 1988Glass et al, 1987Ouellette et al, 1986Sanborn, 1982 Irregularity Cycles <22 or >50 days Cycles >37 days Cycles >38 days Frequent cycles <21 or >35 days Cycles that vary by >5 days Wilson et al, 1984Shangold and Levine, 1982Frisch et al, 1980La Vecchia et al, 1985Olsson et al, 1983 Sources: See Bibliography.…”