Eating poorly can increase the risk of menstruating early, says study

The foods you pack in your child's lunchboxes could influence whether they get their first period early, new research suggests.

Consuming a more inflammatory diet was associated with a 15% higher chance of children having their first period the following month, while a healthier diet reduced the risk by 8%, according to a new study published Tuesday (6) in the journal Human Reproduction .

Getting your period early isn’t just inconvenient — it’s a sign of chronic conditions, according to senior study author Holly Harris, an associate professor of epidemiology at Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle. And younger generations are starting their periods earlier and taking longer to have regular cycles.

Early menstruation , which is influenced by both genetic and external factors, is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer , cardiovascular disease and diabetes in adulthood, according to Harris.

“This can be an important period to reduce the risk of chronic diseases that occur in adulthood,” he adds.

It's not just about weight

The study used data from more than 7,500 children ages 9 to 14 who participated in the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS). Researchers interviewed the children in 1996 and 2004, with follow-ups in 2001 and 2008, respectively.

The researchers measured diets in two ways: the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, which assesses foods and nutrients that predict chronic disease , and the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Pattern, an index that assesses the inflammatory potential of the diet.

The study used well-designed statistical models to assess the relationship between diet quality and age at onset of menstruation, said Zifan Wang, a research associate at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the department of environmental health. He was not involved in the research.

“Consuming a healthy diet in late childhood and early adolescence is associated with later menarche compared with those who consume a less healthy diet. Importantly, this association was not explained by the impact of diet on body size,” says Harris.

Previous understanding was that consuming too many high-calorie foods could lead to early menstruation because the accumulation of body fat signals hormones to start puberty, according to Wang. But the link was still seen even when researchers considered body mass index ( BMI ).

This means that childhood obesity is likely not the only factor influencing the link between early menarche and diet — another factor related to inflammatory or unhealthy eating may be contributing, Wang said.

“Other mechanisms may be possible and deserve further investigation,” he said.

What to do for your children

Several environmental factors influence the age at which menstruation begins, including exposure to high levels of air pollution and personal care products that may contain chemicals that can disrupt the endocrine system, Wang explained.

It’s difficult to completely eliminate your or your child’s exposure to endocrine-disrupting substances, and there are no clear labeling requirements that indicate which products pose this risk, Michael Bloom, a professor of global and community health at the College of Public Health at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, wrote in a previous article.

In the United States, for example, there are reputable, publicly available online databases for searching for safer personal care products, such as SkinSafeProducts.com , developed by allergists and dermatologists at the Mayo Clinic, and Skin Deep , from the Environmental Working Group, according to Bloom, who was also not involved in the latest study.

There are guidelines for dietary patterns that have been linked to reduced risk of early menstruation. In this study, researchers classified diets that included fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, whole grains, nuts, and legumes as healthy, Harris explained.

Diets with an inflammatory pattern included red and processed meats, refined grains, and sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda, processed juices, and diet soda.

“Our findings highlight the need for all children and adolescents to have access to healthy meals, and the importance of school breakfasts and lunches based on evidence-based guidelines,” says Harris.

Changing your child or teenager's diet may seem like a difficult task, but small changes make a difference.

“We know that calories from ultra-processed foods account for about 70 percent of a typical adolescent’s intake,” said Natalie Muth, a pediatrician and registered dietitian at the WELL Clinic at Children’s Primary Care Medical Group in San Diego, in a previous CNN International report . “Any change that reduces consumption of things like chips, cookies and soda, and increases intake of fruits and vegetables, is a big win.”

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