Menstrual Cycles: Fatness as a Determinant of Minimum Weight for Height Necessary for Their Maintenance or Onset

TLDR

Weight loss induces amenorrhea while weight gain restores menstrual cycles, and girls become relatively and absolutely fatter from menarche to age 18. The study defines a minimal weight‑for‑height threshold for menstrual resumption in undernourished amenorrheic girls, using fatness indices at menarche and age 18, and finds that patients aged 16+ resume cycles only after gaining weight above the menarcheal threshold. The data suggest that a minimum level of stored, easily mobilized energy is necessary for ovulation and menstrual cycles in the human female.

Abstract

Weight loss causes loss of menstrual function (amenorrhea) and weight gain restores menstrual cycles. A minimal weight for height necessary for the onset of or the restoration of menstrual cycles in cases of primary or secondary amenorrhea due to undernutrition is indicated by an index of fatness of normal girls at menarche and at age 18 years, respectively. Amenorrheic patients of ages 16 years and over resume menstrual cycles after weight gain at a heavier weight for a particular height than is found at menarche. Girls become relatively and absolutely fatter from menarche to age 18 years. The data suggest that a minimum level of stored, easily mobilized energy is necessary for ovulation and menstrual cycles in the human female.