Abstract:

Objective: The primary aim of this study is to investigate the nutritional status and body composition changes of 80 Turkish women within the age of 18-25 years during their menstrual cycles. Materials and Methods: Demographical and food intake behavior data were collected by a public survey. Body measurements of women were obtained 2 times; during and after the next four days of menstruation by BIA. Food intake records were taken to analzye energy and nutrient intakes. SPSS 18.0 program was used for statistical analyses. Results: The average age of participants was found 21.6 ± 1.68 years. Comparing women in during and after menstrual cycle, their body weight, waist circumference and chest circumference increments were found 0.32 kg, 0.90 cm and 0.57 cm respectively. These changes were statistically significant (p0.05). Conclusions: Although various previous studies focused on the menstruation period, the novelty of our study lies within multiple parameters that we correleated, especially nutrient intake. There was no difference in energy and nutrient intake of women depending on the menstruation periods.

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