How Being Overweight Can Cause Irregular Periods

By Padmapreetham Mahalingam

Wednesday, April 6, 2016, 9:48

One of the most common symptoms that young women undergo is irregular periods as well as weight gain. Weight loss or weight gain can have an effect on your menstrual cycle.

Irregular periods can be caused by various factors that include weight gain or loss. However, excess weight is a major cause of change in the body. We probably worry about weight for a few reasons, since it can affect our self-esteem as well as our health.

Also Read: 10 Reasons Why You Missed Your Periods

Besides, by being overweight, you run the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Most women do not have periods on the same day of each month.

Usually, the menstrual cycle happens on an average of 28 days with cycles falling roughly for 24 to 34 days with the periods lasting for around 4 to 6 days. And all women experience regular and irregular cycles.

But, does weight gain affect your menstrual cycle? Don’t get addled; it can certainly affect reproductive health, including your menstrual cycle.

Also Read: 10 Obesity Fertility Problems Women Face

More importantly, even pregnancy problems, weight loss or weigh gain do have an impact on your menstrual cycle.

Weight gain can be a cause of irregular period that can trigger larger health issues. Here are a few reasons why being overweight can cause an irregular period.

Weight Gain Blights Hormones In The Body

Weight gain or weight loss can trigger and bring changes in a woman's menstrual cycle. Significant change in the body weight and obesity are linked to irregular periods. Weight gain can cause irregular periods because obesity blights hormones. Being overweight certainly causes irregular periods, as it hampers the menstrual cycle.

Affects The Functioning Of Hormones

Being overweight triggers more chances of causing irregular periods. Increase in weight would definitely affect the regularity of menses, as it affects the functioning of your hormones. Irregular periods can make the body to increase insulin resistance due to weight gain. When there is surplus of insulin in your bloodstream, the hormonal production would dismally affect the regularity of a woman's menstrual cycle.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Linked To Irregular Periods

There is more prevalence of obesity among women with PCOS, which can be estimated between 35% to 65%. Women facing problems with the pelvic organs such as polycystic ovary syndrome or Asherman's syndrome do have a chance of suffering from irregular periods. Women with weight gain and irregular menstruation would experience PCOS due to the effect of hormonal imbalance in their bodies.

Moreover, the weight gain causes irregular periods. Endocrine diseases such as PCOS and Amenorrhoea are some of the causes of irregular periods that in turn lead to major weight gain. Women who have PCOS will have an imbalanced hormone, which is the root cause of an irregular menstruation.

Heavy Bleeding

Changes in menstruation can occur gradually over time. The menstrual cycle is different when a woman is in her 20s, 30s and at 40s. There can be some variables in the length of the cycle, and the amount of bleeding is more influenced by either diet, exercise or environmental factors or weight gain.

Weight Loss Impacts Menstrual Cycle Too

Overweight or obese women are not the only ones who have problems with their periods. More importantly, even underweight women or women with sad eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa can experience irregular menstrual cycles.

Food Consumption Can Drastically Affect Ovulation Cycle

Another common reason for late or irregular period is the food that you consume regularly, and this more specifically relates to the weight that you are carrying. A major change in weight either by weight gain or loss can toss your ovulation cycle off.

Therefore, these are some of the reasons why weight gain affects an irregular period.