Hitting puberty and getting your period marks the beginning of a new stage in a woman’s life. Their body starts going through a series of changes that alter their physical appearance, their health, and their overall lifestyle. The menstrual cycle also comes with hormonal fluctuation that changes from woman to woman and that dictates how long their period will last. From puberty to menopause, women go through this cycle which lasts for an average of 28 days and it consists of several stages where the body gets ready for a possible pregnancy.
Having your period can bring forth various uncomfortable symptoms, such as cramps, tender breasts, bloating, mood swings, and lower back pain, among others. Every woman experiences their period differently, some of them barely notice these painful side effects, while others can experience more intense ones.
However, having a regular period, no matter the symptoms, is a signal of good health and balanced hormones, and while many women experience irregularities due to birth control, pregnancy, or changes in lifestyle, having an irregular or no period at all can be a sign of an underlying medical condition.
There are many reasons why a woman might miss periods or have no periods at all, and if you’re experiencing this, we recommend you contact your doctor as soon as possible. At LIMARP®, we care about your overall health and our team of doctors, led by Dr. Liza María Pompa González, aims to provide the best treatments and guidance so that you can lead a healthy lifestyle.
Weight fluctuations can have a significant impact on women’s menstrual cycle, whether it’s significant weight loss or sudden weight gain. It can also cause other complications that go beyond missed periods and can put you at risk of life-threatening conditions.
This article will focus on how being overweight or obese can lead to having irregular menstrual cycles or no periods at all, as well as the available treatments.
As we’ve mentioned in other articles, each patient’s case is different and while the information presented here can be of use, we strongly recommend that you make an appointment to get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
Before diving into the reasons why being overweight or obese can cause you to have no period, we’d like to discuss some of the other common reasons why you can have an irregular menstrual cycle. Missing your period or having inconsistent cycles from time to time is more normal than you may think and according to a 2019 study[1], more than 14% of women often find their periods to be irregular.
However, missing your period over a long period of time or losing it completely is known as amenorrhea. This condition is divided into two types, primary and secondary, with the latter one being the most common. The main reasons for having no period may be due to issues with the thyroid or pituitary glands, which regulate the metabolism and when healthy, produce the necessary hormones for a regular period.
When it comes to thyroid issues, the gland can be either overactive (hyperthyroidism) or underactive (hypothyroidism). This means that the thyroid produces an abnormal amount of hormones that may result in many non-specific symptoms. Because the thyroid affects hormone levels, many individuals suffering from hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism struggle with weight loss. In fact, many have trouble shedding pounds even when exercising and dieting. This struggle can lead a person to becoming overweight or obese, which can also lead to other complications, amenorrhea and hyperestrogenism among them.
While your weight can be affected due to hyper or hypothyroidism, thus causing the loss of your period, this too can happen if you are suffering from an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa. These disorders can make you severely underweight, which can also cause you to have no period; this occurs because your body doesn’t have enough body fat to store the estrogen needed to carry on a healthy menstrual cycle[2]. This decline in estrogen not only causes missed periods, but it also puts you at risk of developing osteoporosis[3].
Obesity or being overweight can be caused for a number of reasons, such as thyroid problems, eating disorders like BED, mental health issues such as depression, or genetics. Genes certainly play a role, but statistics from the last few decades indicate that the environment plays an even more important one. The American Psychological Association states that “the causes of obesity are rarely limited to genetic factors, overeating or leading a sedentary lifestyle. What we do and not do often is the result of how we think and how we feel”[4].
Obesity affects everyone around the world with data suggesting that “the number of obese people in the world has tripled since 1975 to roughly 30% of the total population”[5], and this number continues to rise.
This disorder is one of the leading causes of death because it dramatically decreases a person’s life expectancy. Obesity puts people at higher risk for several diseases or illnesses, such as: diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, strokes, and high blood pressure. Secondary amenorrhea can also be caused by obesity or excess weight.
Being overweight can result in irregular menstrual cycles or having no period at all, and this is due to the high estrogen levels in your body. As we’ve mentioned before, estrogen is stored in your body’s fat and being overweight can make your body produce an excess amount of this hormone.
This is also known as hyperestrogenism, which is “a medical condition characterized by an excessive amount of estrogenic activity in the body”[6].
Balanced hormone levels are necessary for a healthy menstrual cycle and being overweight leads to an imbalance that ultimately results in having no period at all.
It’s important for your doctor to properly diagnose if your missing periods are truly caused by being overweight; if so, they may recommend lifestyle changes such as following a healthy diet and taking up exercising. In case you’re suffering from obesity and need further medical intervention, they will recommend several options that may include surgical procedures.
If being overweight is not the reason you have no period or the sudden weight gain was caused by other conditions, your doctor will perform a series of tests to determine the underlying medical condition and be able to provide proper treatment. Each case is different and it’s important to get diagnosed in order to be as healthy as possible.
Contact Us to Learn More
If you’re overweight and lost your period, schedule an appointment with one of our doctors. We can help determine the right treatment for you. Contact us online anytime or give us a call at (619) 373-0229.
References
- [1] Kwak Y, Kim Y, Baek KA. Prevalence of irregular menstruation according to socioeconomic status: A population-based nationwide cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2019 Mar 19;14(3):e0214071. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214071. PMID: 30889222; PMCID: PMC6424400.
- [2] “How does being underweight affect a woman’s health?” https://www.womenshealth.gov/healthy-weight/underweight. (Accessed August 30, 2022).
- [3] Shufelt CL, Torbati T, Dutra E. Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and the Long-Term Health Consequences. Semin Reprod Med. 2017 May;35(3):256-262. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1603581. Epub 2017 Jun 28. PMID: 28658709; PMCID: PMC6374026.
- [4] “Mind/body health: Obesity”. https://www.apa.org/topics/obesity/mind-body-health. (Accessed August 30, 2022).
- [5] “Most Obese Countries 2022”. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-obese-countries. (Accessed August 30, 2022).
- [6] “About Hyperestrogenism”. https://fertilitypedia.org/edu/diagnoses/hyperestrogenism. (Accessed August 30, 2022).