AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 251, Issue 4 483-E488, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
Effects of energy deprivation on sex hormone patterns in healthy menstruating women
M. S. Kurzer and D. H. Calloway
To determine whether short-term energy deprivation affects sex hormone
patterns, six healthy women were studied for two menstrual cycles. Two
diets containing recommended levels of all nutrients and differing
substantially only with respect to energy content were provided in
sequence. During the first cycle, energy intake was 40 +/- 2 kcal/kg body
weight, and weight was essentially constant. For the second cycle, energy
intake was reduced to 41% of the original intake, averaging 17 +/- 1
kcal/kg initial body weight. During the low-energy diet, weight loss ranged
from 3.2 to 6.7 kg. The two leanest women, who also lost the most weight,
became anovulatory and amenorrheic in the low-energy period. Within a
specific phase of cycle, however, the diet did not affect concentrations of
estradiol, progesterone, luteinizing hormone, or follicle-stimulating
hormone. Testosterone and androstenedione levels peaked midcycle normally
and were decreased with the low-energy diet, while levels of sex
hormone-binding globulin increased and those of dehydroepiandrosterone
sulfate did not change. These results demonstrate short-term dietary and
body composition effects on the menstrual cycle and serum androgens.
