BIOLOGICAL PREDICTOR OF EATING DIFFICULTIES: ROLE OF BODY WEIGHT AND MENARCHE AGE IN WOMEN WITH IRREGULAR MENSTRUAL CYCLES

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate whether or not the potential predictors of body weight (kg) and age at the onset of menarche (years) may help identify women who experience difficulties eating in women with irregular cycles. The researcher conducted cross-sectional research using a snowball sampling method to recruit 200 adult females (aged 19) who had irregular menstrual cycles (i.e., fewer than 12 or greater than 12 cycles per year; less than 21 days apart or greater than 35 days apart) residing in Gujrat, Lala Musa, and Kharian. Women who had any type of mental illness, any other health problems, or hormonal imbalances due to causes other than the irregularity of their menstrual cycles were excluded. To measure the degree of difficulty eating, respondents completed the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q). A Demographics Form was utilized to collect data such as body weight and age at the onset of menarche. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 21.0) by way of descriptive statistics and through multiple regression analyses. Based on the findings from the multiple regression analysis, F(2, 197) = 23.49 p < .001, body weight and age at onset of menarche were the only two significant predictors of problems experienced while eating, explaining 19.3% of variance in problems experienced while eating. Based on the beta, body weight was found to be the most powerful predictor of problems caused by excessive weight, with a B = 1.18 and beta = .386 (p < .001). That is, body weight was strongly correlated with a person's chance of developing problems related to eating as body weight increases. Conversely, age at the onset of menarche was negatively correlated with a woman's likelihood of experiencing eating problems. A women with early age at menarche was more likely to have a higher number of problems related to eating behavior than an late onset. Age at menarche has a B of -4.80 and a beta of -.209, p = .001. Results showed that Body Weight and Age at Menarche were both predictors of eating difficulties among women who had irregular menstrual cycles. Therefore, these two variables should be included in the evaluation and treatment of eating issues related to this demographic group.