Low vitamin D linked to early menstruation, health problems later in life

Low vitamin D in young girls may lead to early menstruation, which is a risk factor for a host of health issues for teen girls as well as ladies later in life, according to a brand new study.

Researchers from the University of Illinois School of Public Health measured the blood vitamin D levels in 242 girls ages 5-12 from Bogota, Colombia, and followed them for 30 months.

Girls low on vitamin D were two times as likely to start menstruation in the work of the study than those with sufficient vitamin D, said epidemiologist Eduardo Villamor, associate professor in the U-M SPH.

Early menstruation is a risk factor for behavioural and psychosocial issues in teenagers.

Also, girls who have an earlier menarche appear to have increased risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases and cancer-particularly breast cancer, as adults.

In the research by Villamor and colleagues, 57 percent of the girls in the vitamin D-deficient group reached menarche in the work of the study, compared to 23 percent in the vitamin D-sufficient group.

In terms of age, girls who were low in vitamin D were about 11.8 years elderly when they started menstruating, compared to the other group at about age 12.6 years elderly.

This 10-month difference is substantial, Villamor said, because although ten months may not appear like a long time, at that age a lot is happening quickly to a young girl's body.

Want to reduce your belly fat? Eat apples, green peas and beans

Are you tired of having belly fat? Now, eat two small apples, one cup of green peas and one-half cup of pinto beans and exercise vigorously for 30 minutes, two to four times a week.

cording to the researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, vegetables, fruit and beans contain more soluble fiber and will help reduce visceral fat, or belly fat, around the midsection.

They found that for every 10-gram increase in soluble fiber eaten per day, visceral fat was reduced by 3.7 percent over five years. In addition, increased moderate activity resulted in a 7.4 percent decrease in the rate of visceral fat accumulation over the same time period.

"We know that a higher rate of visceral fat is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes and fatty liver disease," said Kristen Hairston, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist and lead researcher on the study.

"Our study found that making a few simple changes can have a big health impact," he added.

The researchers examined whether lifestyle factors, such as diet and frequency of exercise, were associated with a five-year change in abdominal fat of African Americans and Hispanic Americans.

At the beginning of the study, which involved 1,114 people, the participants were given a physical exam, an extensive questionnaire on lifestyle issues, and a CT scan. Five years later, the exact same process was repeated.

The researchers found that increased soluble fiber intake was associated with a decreased rate of accumulated visceral fat, but not subcutaneous fat.

"There is mounting evidence that eating more soluble fiber and increasing exercise reduces visceral or belly fat, although we still don't know how it works," said Hairston.

The results are published in the June 16 online issue of the journal Obesity. (ANI)