International Journal of
Nutrition and Metabolism

  • Abbreviation: Int. J. Nutr. Metab.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2332
  • DOI: 10.5897/IJNAM
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 127

Full Length Research Paper

Change in appetite and food craving during menstrual cycle in young students

Yukie Matsuura
  • Yukie Matsuura
  • Department of Reproductive and Menopausal Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan.
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Aoi Inoue
  • Aoi Inoue
  • Graduate School of Health Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.
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Mizuki Kidani
  • Mizuki Kidani
  • Graduate School of Health Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan.
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Toshiyuki Yasui
  • Toshiyuki Yasui
  • Department of Reproductive and Menopausal Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan.
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  •  Received: 21 November 2019
  •  Accepted: 08 July 2020
  •  Published: 31 July 2020

Abstract

The change in appetite and food cravings before, during and after menstruation and the relationships between each premenstrual symptom and change in appetite and type of food with increased intake were investigated. This study was conducted by a self-administered questionnaire in 311 female students of health sciences. It was found that the proportion of students who increased the appetite was 70.4% during the menstruation cycle, and the highest period was before menstruation (85.8%). Sweets had the highest intake in all menstrual phases followed by junk food. It was found that increased appetite was significantly associated with depression and sleepiness. Moreover, increased intake of sweets was associated with depression, anger and sleepiness, while intake of junk food was associated with irritability and depression. In conclusion, the relationships between increased appetite for sweets and junk food and premenstrual symptoms indicate the need for promoting proper menstruation-related eating habits.

Key words: Premenstrual symptoms, change in appetite, food craving, sweets, junk food.

 

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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