Amenorrhea may stem from hunger hormones

Medical science has proven that adequate food intake can restore menstruation to normal. Here, hunger-inducing hormones play an evolutionary role, preventing pregnancy when food is scarce, thereby preventing the fetus from growing in an environment of inadequate nutrition.

A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that a hunger hormone also plays a role in the reproductive system. When a woman eats very little, this hunger hormone can suppress reproductive function. Ghrelin is one of three hormones that are involved in obesity. It is called a hunger hormone because after taking it, the subjects became hungrier and ate one-third more than usual.

Previous scientific studies have confirmed that women's menstruation is related to body weight or body fat content. Menstruation occurs when the body's fat tissue reaches 17% of body weight; normal menstruation can be maintained when the fat tissue increases to 22% of body weight. When the body weight is 5%-10% below the standard weight, the menstrual cycle may change and affect fertility; when the body weight is 15% below the standard weight, systemic metabolic changes may occur, similar to anorexia.

Dr. De Souza of the University of Toronto in Canada said: "The human body has a very good compensation mechanism. For energy deficiency caused by severe menstrual disorders such as amenorrhea, the body responds by changing hormone levels in order to increase food intake to replenish energy. As long as women resume eating enough food, they can change the state of amenorrhea and restore normal menstruation. Here, the hunger hormone plays an evolutionary role. It can prevent pregnancy when food is scarce, thereby preventing the fetus from growing in an environment of insufficient nutrition. This finding supports the argument that "in a state of extreme chronic energy deficiency, hunger hormones play an important role in completely suppressing reproductive function."