Hostname: page-component-8678677fb7-pvr6d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-10-02T02:36:22.730Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Changes in nutrient intake during the menstrual cycle of overweight women with premenstrual syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Giordana B. Cross ,
John Marley ,
Helen Miles  and
Kristyn Willson
Giordana B. Cross*
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 5000
John Marley
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 5000
Helen Miles
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 5000
Kristyn Willson
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 5000
*
*Corresponding author: Giordana B. Cross, fax + 61 08 8204 7778, email crossg@mail.wch.sa.gov.au
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the 'Save PDF' action button.

This study presents the nutrient data collected from women who were being screened for premenstrual syndrome (PMS) for entry into an intervention study. Screening was by the Steiner self-rated questionnaire. One hundred and forty-four overweight women completed the screening process and eighty-eight met the criteria for PMS. All women kept 4 d diet diaries pre- and postmenstrually over two menstrual cycles. The mean energy and macronutrient intakes were compared between the pre- and postmenstrual phases. Energy and macronutrient intake was also calculated according to food categories. Goldberg's cut-off limit for the ratio of energy intake to estimated basal metabolic rate was used to exclude data that was incompatible with predicted energy requirements. The diet diaries were also used to determine the mean number of meals or snacks eaten pre- and postmenstrually. Nutrient analysis of the diet diaries of the women with PMS showed a significant increase (P<0.001) in total energy and all macronutrients premenstrually when compared to nutrient intake postmenstrually. Women who did not meet the criteria for PMS showed a significant increase in energy and fat intake (P<0.05) but not in the other macronutrients. When adjusted for energy, data collected from women with PMS showed a premenstrual significant increase in fat, carbohydrate (P<0.05) and simple sugars (P<0.001). There was a significant decrease (P<0.001) in protein premenstrually. Women not meeting the PMS criteria showed no significant difference between pre- and postmenstrual intakes when adjusted for energy. Analysis according to food categories in women with PMS showed a significantly greater intake premenstrually of energy and all macronutrients for cereals, cakes and desserts and high-sugar foods (P<0.001). In women with PMS there was a significantly greater number of ‘episodes of eating’ premenstrually (P<0.001). This study provides further evidence, to support the very limited number of earlier studies, that there is a group of women with PMS who increase their nutrient intake during the premenstrual phase. This could potentially be a contributing factor for some women experiencing difficulties adhering to suggested dietary modification and should be considered when counselling premenopausal women.

Keywords

Premenstrual syndromeOverweight womenMacronutrient and energy intake

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 85 , Issue 4 , April 2001 , pp. 475 - 482
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2001

References

American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.Google Scholar
Barr, SI, Janelle, KC & Prior, JC (1995) Energy intakes are higher during the luteal phase of ovulatory menstrual cycles. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 61, 39–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Basiotis, PP (1987) Number of days of food intake records required to estimate individual and group nutrient intakes with defined confidence. Journal of Nutrition 117, 1138–1141.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blum, I, Nessiel, L, Graff, E, Harsat, A, Gabbay, U, Sulkes, J, Raz, O & Vered, Y (1993) Food preferences, body weight, and platelet-poor plasma serotonin and catecholamines. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 57, 486–489.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Both-Orthman, B, Rubinow, DR, Hoban, MC, Malley, J & Grover, GN (1988) Menstrual cycle phase-related changes in appetite in patients with premenstrual syndrome and in control subjects. American Journal of Psychiatry 145, 628–631.Google ScholarPubMed
Dalton, K (1960) Menstruation and accidents. British Medical Journal 2, 1425.Google Scholar
Dalvit-McPhillips, S (1983) The effect of the human menstrual cycle on nutrient intake. Physiology and Behaviour 31, 209–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dye, L & Blundell, JE (1997) Menstrual cycle and appetite control: implications for weight regulation. Human Reproduction 12, 1142–1151.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldberg, GR, Black, AE, Jebb, SA, Cole, TJ, Murgatroyd, PR, Coward, WA & Prentice, AM (1991) Critical evaluation of energy intake data using fundamental principals of energy physiology 1. Derivation of cut-off limits to identify under-recording. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 569–581.Google Scholar
Gong, EJ, Garrel, D & Calloway, DH (1989) Menstrual cycle and voluntary food intake. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 49, 252–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hill, AJ & Heaton-Brown, L (1994) The experience of food craving: a prospective investigation in healthy women. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 38, 804–814.Google Scholar
Hunt, SM, McKenna, SP, McEwen, J, Williams, J & Papp, E (1981) The Nottingham health profile: Subjective health status and medical consultations. Social Science and Medicine 15A, 221–229.Google ScholarPubMed
Johnson, WG, Carr-Nangle, RE & Bergeron, KC (1995) Macronutrient intake, eating habits and exercise as moderators of menstrual distress in healthy women. Psychosomatic Medicine 57, 324–330.Google Scholar
Lieberman, HR, Wurtman, JJ & Chew, B (1986) Changes in mood after carbohydrate consumption among obese individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 44, 772–778.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lissner, L, Stevens, J, Levitsky, DA, Rasmussen, KM & Strupp, BJ (1988) Variation in energy intake during the menstrual cycle: implications for food-intake research. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, 956–962.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Magarey, A & Boulton, J (1995) The Adelaide nutrition study. 3. Food sources at ages 11, 13 and 15 years. Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics 52, 124–130.Google Scholar
Manocha, S, Choudhuri, G & Tandon, BN (1986) A Study of the dietary intake in pre and post-menstrual period. Human Nutrition: Applied Nutrition 40A, 213–216.Google ScholarPubMed
Martini, MC, Lampe, JW, Slavin, JL & Kurzer, MS (1994) Effect of the menstrual cycle on energy and nutrient intake. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 60, 895–899.Google Scholar
Potoska, AL, Block, G & Hartman, AM (1990) The apparent validity of diet questionnaires is influenced by number of diet record days used for comparison. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 90, 810–813.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rapkin, AJ, Edelmuth, E, Chang, LC, Reading, AE, McGuire, MT & Su, TP (1987) Whole blood serotonin in premenstrual syndrome. Obstetrics and Gynaecology 70, 533–537.Google ScholarPubMed
Reid, R (1986) Pre menstrual Syndrome; the time for introspection. Medical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 155, 921.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, NE, Genhart, MJ, Caballero, B, Jacobsen, FM, Skwerer, RG, Coursey, RD, Rogers, S & Spring, BJ (1989) Psychobiological effects of carbohydrate and protein rich meals in patients with seasonal affective disorder and normal controls. Biological Psychiatry 25, 1029–1040.Google Scholar
Steinberg, S, Lawrence, A, Young, SN & Belanger, MC (1994) Tryptophan in the treatment of late luteal phase dysphoric disorder: a pilot study. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 19, 114–119.Google ScholarPubMed
Steiner, M, Haskett, F & Carroll, BJ (1980) Premenstrual tension syndrome: The development of research diagnostic criteria and new rating scales. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 62, 177–190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tarasuk, V & Beaton, GH (1991) Menstrual-cycle patterns in energy and macronutrient intake. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, 442–447.Google Scholar
Weingarten, HP & Elston, D (1991) Food cravings in a college population. Appetite 17, 167–175.Google Scholar
Wurtman, JJ, Brzezinski, A, Wurtman, RJ & Laferrere, B (1989) Effect of nutrient intake on premenstrual depression. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 161, 1228-1234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed