Menstrual disturbances are frequently observed in physically active women and female athletes. Short term prospective studies have shown that diet and exercise interventions can lead to decreases in Luteinizing hormone (LH) pulsatility, however these studies are unable to capture further changes in menstrual status. One longer term prospective study over two menstrual cycles showed that weight loss elicited menstrual disturbances, but there were no quantifiable measurements of energy availability. Thus, the primary purpose of this study was to assess how varying levels of energy deficiency created through a combination of caloric restriction and exercise affect menstrual function in young, premenopausal, sedentary women.
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Change in frequency of menstrual disturbances (disturbances /cycle)
Timeframe: Baseline Menstrual Cycle (MC) (28 days (d) or the length of 1 MC, intervention MC 1 (28 days or the length of 1 MC), intervention MC 2 (28 days or the length of 1 MC), and intervention MC 3 (28 days or the length of 1 MC)