A Study of Nutritional Status and Anthropometric Indexes and their Relationship with Menarche among School Girls of Ardabil

Menarche is an important event during developing stages in females. Several factors can affect the determination of the menarche age including socioeconomic situation, family customs and nutritional status. Different researches show that obese girls become menarche earlier than thin ones. Regarding the importance of nutrition in menarche age, the present study was conducted to evaluate nutritional status among girls in Ardabil at menarche age (10-14 years old). The aim of this study was to determine the relationship among anthropometrics (e.g. weight, height, BMI, MAC), nutritional status, economic factors and menarche age. This cross - sectional study was done on 612 primary and secondary school girls at the age of 10-14 during 1999-2000. Height, weight and MAC of these subjects as well as their BMI were calculated. Their nutritional status (24-hour recall and food frequency) and menarche age were studied. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS ver.9 and Food Processor. There was a significant relation between height and menarche age (P<0.05). Menarche age reduced with increasing of weight and BMI, and the differences were significant (p<0.05). Menarche age of girls whose MAC was less than 22cm was lower than individuals with MAC≥22 cm and this difference was significant (P<0.01). Girls with≥40% caloric intake from fat had lower menarche age than the other groups but this difference was not significant. Food frequencies showed that the most frequently used foods in each week were two kinds of local bread (Lavash and Barbary), sugar, vegetable oil, chocolate, cheese, apple and rice. Menarche is affected by anthropometrical factors and nutritional status (particularly fat intake).