A Crucial Period

Missing menstruation from too much exercise can have serious consequences.

Some women think they're finally "getting into shape" when they exercise so much that they stop having periods - a condition called amenorrhea. They might also think they no longer need to use birth control; if they aren't menstruating, how can they get pregnant? Both of these myths can have serious implications for your health.

To maintain menstruation, women need a certain amount of calories, protein and body fat. In addition, factors such as stress, Weight loss, intense training, a history of irregular periods and late menarche (a woman's first period) may make a woman more prone to the cessation of menstruation.

Amenorrhea is a warning from your body that there is too much energy drain. The body stops menstruating al-most as a protective factor to guard against pregnancy during a time of physiological stress.

Women active in all types of sports - from aerobics to Weight lifting, soccer to swimming - have been found to have a higher prevalence of amenorrhea than non athletes. This condition is known as exercise-associated amenorrhea, or EAA.

NO BONES ABOUT IT

EAA is not a sign of peak physical conditioning; it's actually an indication of a system edging toward collapse. It has been associated with higher injury rates and lower bone density in female athletes.

Studies by Barbara Drinkwater, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Pacific Medical Center in Seattle, and Chris Cann, Ph.D., at the University of California at San Francisco, found significantly lower bone density in female runners with amenorrhea. The discovery of this bone loss was a surprise to the medical community because one of the benefits of weight-bearing exercise is an increase in bone density.

Decreasing bone mass has serious implications, including an increased chance of stress fracture in the short term and the increased likelihood of developing osteoporosis in the long term. The symptoms may not appear until a stress fracture happens in our 20s or 30s, a hip fracture occurs sometime in our 60s or we are burdened with a "dowager's hump." Can this be prevented?

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Table of Contents

Foreword: Billie Jean King

Comments by Barb Harris
Editor in Chief,
Shape Magazine

General Health
Nutrition
Exercise
Common Medical Problems
Dental Health
Emergency!
Infectious Disease
Sexual Health
Emotional Well-Being
Eating Disorders
Alcohol & Other Drugs
Environmental Health
Prevention