A new study has found that taking sugary drinks is associated with lowered age of menarche, which is the first period in the female menstrual cycle.

Age of first menses has been observed to have decreased substantially since the early 20th century. And previous studies have shown that younger age of menarche is associated with increased risk of breast and endometrial cancer in later life.

The current study, published online in Human Reproduction, used analyzed data from 5,583 girls ages 9 to 14 who had not yet attained menarche at the start. They were made to fill out diet questionnaires yearly from 1996 to 1998. By 2001, 159 still had not yet had their first period.

After controlling for birth weight, maternal age at menarche, physical activity, and many dietary and behavioral factors, it was discovered that girls who drank one-and-a-half (approximately 300g) a day of non-diet soda or sugared iced tea had their first period an average of 2.7 months earlier than those who drank less than two cans a week.

The lead author, Karin B. Michels, an associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard, said that the contribution of sugary drinks to early menarche was independent of the well-known contribution of obesity.

“Our findings are robust,” she said, “and not dependent on body mass index. Sugared beverages are not healthy to begin with, and there should be heightened attention to avoiding them.”


New york times. Article by Nicholas Bakalar

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/sugary-drinks-tied-to-earlier-menstruation/?ref=health