Weight loss leads to amenorrhea

In contemporary society, many people, both men and women, are losing weight. Some do so in pursuit of a more perfect body, while others do so for health reasons. After all, obesity may lead to many diseases, so losing weight has become a trend. However, many women find that they have amenorrhea during the process of losing weight. What is the reason for this? Why does weight loss lead to amenorrhea? Is it because of dieting or because they are too thin?

1. Why does dieting cause amenorrhea?

The hypothalamus in the human brain contains the feeding center and the satiety center. Another important function of the hypothalamus is to secrete luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone. Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone can stimulate the pituitary gland to secrete luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. The latter two hormones stimulate ovarian development and are of great significance to menstruation and egg production. This system is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. This axis is regulated by the cerebral cortex. When a person suffers from anorexia or subjectively compels them to reduce their food intake, the cerebral cortex will become dysfunctional. If you diet further, it will affect the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis, resulting in insufficient secretion of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, and reduced secretion of estrogen and progesterone from the ovaries, resulting in amenorrhea. Generally speaking, after just 4 days of dieting, women's hormone secretion will begin to become abnormal. Therefore, when treating this type of amenorrhea, the first condition is to resume diet and restore weight, otherwise taking medicine will be of no help.

2. Why does being too thin lead to amenorrhea?

The amount of adipose tissue can directly affect the body's endocrine regulation that controls the menstrual cycle. Menarche occurs when the adipose tissue in the body reaches 17% of body weight; normal regular menstruation can only be maintained when the adipose tissue increases to 22% of body weight. When body weight is 5%-10% lower than the standard body weight, the menstrual cycle may change and affect fertility; when body weight is 15% lower than the standard body weight, amenorrhea may occur due to the inability to release estrogen normally. Generally, moderately obese girls have their first menstruation earlier than thin girls; malnutrition can delay the first menstruation. Anorexic girls whose weight is below the critical weight often have amenorrhea. The adipose tissue in women's breasts, abdomen, omentum, and long bone marrow can convert androgens into estrogens. Adipose tissue is an important extragonadal source of estrogen. To increase estrogen levels, you should gain more weight.

3. What factors can affect the menstrual cycle?

1) Mental illness or excessive tension: severe mental illness or excessive fear, depression, etc.

2) Being underweight or overweight: Being too thin or too obese in women can cause hypothalamic dysfunction and lead to anovulation.

3) Intense exercise: Intense exercise (such as ballet dancers, marathon runners, etc.) can be recovered after stopping; exercise can also cause weight loss, increased oxygen consumption and a decrease in the fat/muscle ratio.

4) Anorexia nervosa: More common in young women under 25 years old, with suppression of feeding centers, self-compulsive anorexia or food refusal, etc., and weight loss can reach more than 25%. The inhibition of hypothalamic function can lead to amenorrhea, accompanied by chills, hypotension, constipation, and other symptoms, and may also be accompanied by symptoms such as hypothyroidism.