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Home › Articles › Health › Make the Connection

Make the Connection

Menstruation and the Teen Athlete

By Sue Marquette Poremba

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In October 2004, Serena Williams lost in the second round of the Generali Open in Linz, Austria. It was more than a bad day on the court for this superstar tennis player. On that day, Williams suffered an excruciating menstrual migraine. She has been plagued with these migraines since she was a teenager.

Menstruation is a fact of life for nearly every teenage girl, but young athletes have concerns that their monthly cycle will disrupt their training or competition. While situations like Serena Williams's migraine aren't overly common, athletic teens do have to take nutritional and hormonal changes into consideration during their workouts.

The Body Fat Connection
Physically active teenagers might find that they have infrequent periods. It is not unusual for teenagers, especially young teens who have recently begun menstruation, to have irregular periods. Also, very active teens tend to have lower body fat levels than their non-athletic peers. Because fat stores estrogen, girls who have a small body-fat percentage can sometimes stop having periods. Teenagers need to keep track of their cycle and note the frequency and the length of the bleeding. There are certain red flags that, should they occur, the teenager should contact her gynecologist:
  • If more than three months pass without a period
  • If bleeding lasts for more than 10 days
  • If the time between periods is less than 21 days

Because menstruation and body fat are so closely linked, athletic teenagers need to make sure their body fat is kept at a healthy level, which for girls between the ages of 14 and 19 is 20 percent. According to Barbara Dehn, an RN and nurse practitioner in Mountain View, Calif., when a girl drops below that level of bodyfat, her pituitary glands can shut down. This can cause depression, and the lower estrogen levels means that the body cannot properly absorb calcium. This can lead to bone fractures.

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