Association of Body Composition, Nutritional Status and Menstruation among Early Adolescent Girls Thakur Harshada1, Gokhale Devaki2, Kasale Sneha3, Otiv Suhas4 1Research Scholar, Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune 2Assistant Professor, Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune 3Student, Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune 4Consultant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, KEM Hospital and Research Centre, Pune Online published on 5 July, 2018. Abstract Introduction Adolescence is a critical transition age where remarkable growth pace occurs. Menarche is attained by adolescents between the age group of 12–15 years. The factors contributing to menarche and menstruation disorders are nutritional status, physical activity level, body composition, hormonal imbalance and combination of many factors. Objective of the study is to explore the correlation between age at menarche and menstrual disorders in early adolescent girls in the light of their nutritional status and body composition. Method A total of 150 girls participated in the study. Data of menstruation, nutrition and physical activity was collected using structured questionnaires through interview method. Body composition was assessed by anthropometric measurements - height, weight, waist and hip circumference and TANITA body composition analyzer. Results and Discussion About 109(72.7%) girls had attained menarche whereas 41(27.3%) were yet to attain menarche. From this 80(53.4%) girls who had attained menarche were <12 years old. The most common disorder reported was Dysmenorrhea. Intake of energy and protein was deficit among most of the girls. Girls skipped one of the meals mainly breakfast. Means of body fat percentage, lean body mass, visceral fat were significantly higher among the girls who had attained menarche. Weight, waist circumference, hip circumference were significantly higher in the girls who had reported dysmenorrhoea. Physical inactivity and higher screen time was observed among girls who had attained menarche. Conclusion It was observed that the body composition, nutritional status and physical activity were different across menstrual status and menstrual disorders. Top Keywords Menstruation, Body Composition, Nutritional Status, Physical Activity. Top |