A comparative study of the effects of obesity on menarche in rural and urban school girls in Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal

Abstract

Background: Menarche is called the first menstrual bleeding. In this period, an adolescent girl signifies the transition from girlhood to womanhood, and various physiological, social, and mental changes occur in this age group. This study was conducted to find out the effect of menarche on obesity among the rural and urban secondary schoolgirls in Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal.
Methods: This study was conducted on 160 secondary school girls whose having an age range of 10 to 14 years in rural and urban areas, from Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal. A questionnaire and anthropometric measurements are used for data collection.
Results: Girls with high class BMI, waist circumference, waist-height ratio, hip circumference, hip-height ratio, body fat percentage, and MUAC are more likely to attain early menarche. It is important to control the occurrence of obesity, particularly central obesity, by monitoring the change in waist circumference, hip circumference, body fat percentage, BMI, and MUAC. There was a significant correlation of body growth with the age at menarche, indicating early onset of menarche in obese girls as compared to lean ones.
Discussion: The findings of this study provide a reference for the age at menarche to determine trends and also emphasise the need for the development of strategies to reduce and prevent excessive weight gain in our paediatric population, with special attention being paid to the eating and living style habits of our children.