This picture was taken at the peak of my high school track career when I broke records in long-distance running competitions.
Hypothalamic amenorrhea is when young women stop having periods due to food restriction, under eating, significant weight loss, over-exercising, and stress. . .and can cause adverse long-term health consequences on fertility (inability to get pregnant or carry a baby to full term); bone health (severe and irreversible osteoporosis); and early death.
It’s a very serious condition that’s seldom talked about in women’s magazines or on social media.
The treatment for it includes increasing calories and extra sleep, and reducing exercise. Some women may even need hormone replacement therapy and ovulation-inducing medications.
Athletes with the highest rate of hypothalamic amenorrhea are gymnasts, runners, cyclists, and ballet dancers. . .up to 70% of them have it. (Sports that have strict weight requirements are the most dangerous.)
The prevalence is highest amongst females who are involved in high-intensity training, have low body fat, and insufficient calorie intake.
This happened to me in high school when I was a competitive runner. No doctor ever warned me about it at my annual sports physical.
However, a few years later, an internal medicine physician told me I wouldn’t be able to have any children because of it.
Thankfully, I stopped the sport, ate more calories, rested more, and restored my health. By God’s grace, my body was able to carry five healthy, full-term babies.
Health is so much more than a number on the scale, eating less, and exercising more.
Health also consists of young women’s bodies being able to have consistent menstrual cycles.
Emily Boller, wife, mother, painter, and author is on a mission to create expressive works of art in her lifetime; and to bring awareness to the potentially harmful traps of diet-wellness culture. In her free time, she loves creative writing, chasing sunrises, growing flowers and vegetables, and canning homemade soups.