Healthy eating is fundamental in all stages of life, since it influences the functioning of the entire organism and is key to the correct development of babies and children. Now, a new study has found a relationship between the type of diet and the age of the Menarcia (First Rule). Its results have been published in the magazine Human Reproduction And they show that girls who follow a balanced and healthy diet during childhood tend to have their first menstruation later than those whose food is less healthy.
He link between the diet and the age of the first rule It remained even after taking into account factors such as the body mass index (BMI) or height, which have previously been linked to an earlier on menstruation. This finding could have important implications for long -term health, since Starting menstruate at an early age has been associated with an increased risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, obesity, breast cancer and cardiovascular pathologies.
“I think our findings highlight the need for all children and adolescents to have access to healthy food options, and the importance of breakfast and school lunches are based on evidence -based guidelines,” said Holly Harris, an associated teacher at the Fred Hutchinson Oncological Center in Seattle (USA), in statements collected by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
Harris has also explained that this work was inspired by previous investigations of the Nurses’ Health Study II, where a greater risk of breast cancer was detected among those who consumed a proinflammatory diet during adolescence and early adulthood, which led to wonder if the diet in early stages of life could influence risk factors for diseases such as cancer, among them, the age of menarchy.
Girls with a healthier diet had the first rule later
The results come from the US study Growing Up Today Study (GUTS), in which more than 7,500 children between 9 and 14 years participated, recruited in two phases (1996 and 2004) and followed until 2001 and 2008, respectively. For the first time, researchers analyzed how different food patterns are related to the age of onset of menstruationand also explored if the BMI could modify that association.
Before the participants began to menstruate, they answered periodic questionnaires about their eating habits, and later reported when they had their first menstruation. The researchers evaluated the quality of the diet with two recognized indices: the alternative healthy eating index (AHEI), which gives more points to beneficial foods such as vegetables, legumes and whole grains; and the empirical inflammatory dietary pattern (EDIP), which scores depending on the inflammatory potential of the diet, penalizing foods such as red and processed meats, viscera, refined flours and sugary drinks.
Of the total number of participants, 6,992 girls (93%) began to menstruate during follow -up. The analyzes showed that 20% of those with the healthiest diets (higher ahei score) were 8% less likely to menstruate in the following month compared to 20% of those with less healthy diets. On the contrary, those with the most inflammatory diet (greater EDIP score) presented 15% more likely to have their first rule in that same interval.
“I think our findings highlight the importance of breakfast and school lunches based on evidence -based guidelines”
The study authors believe that the Type of food consumed in childhood and adolescenceand its effect on inflammation could be key at the time the menarche appears, beyond physical factors such as size or weight, although it is the first work that analyzes these specific dietary patterns, they consider it necessary to replicate it in other populations.
In addition, they have stressed that take a balanced diet – Rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, blue fish, nuts and legumes, and low in processed meats, refined flours, sugary drinks and salt – not only protects against diseases in adulthood, but also could have positive effects since adolescence.
Among the strengths of the study, it emphasizes that dietary data were collected prospectively, which allowed to evaluate more precisely the relationship between diet and menarchy age without the influence of BMI or height. However, researchers recognize limitations, such as the use of self-reported questionnaires to register the food, weight and age of the first rule, which can introduce errors. In addition, they could not directly measure body fat through techniques such as X -ray absorciometry (DXA), and most participants were white, which prevents generalizing the results to other populations.
Source: www.webconsultas.com