| Abstract | The student dietitian will be able to relate stages (menses, follicular phase and luteal stages) of the menstrual cycle and corresponding hormone releases of undergraduate university students to food cravings and eating habits. The objectives of this study were to determine the stage of the menstrual cycle and relate food cravings and eating habits to the stage of the menstrual cycle in undergraduate university females. A survey was designed to meet research objectives and approved by the Department of Nutritional Sciences Research Review Committee. Subjects were recruited and the research instrument was administered. Data was entered into SPSS and responses were computed to meet objectives. A total of 323 undergraduate female subjects completed the survey, 17% indicated to be in the menses stage of the cycle, 29.7% indicated to be in the follicular stage of the cycle leading up to ovulation, and 53% indicated that they were in the luteal stage of the cycle. Of the questions pertaining to food cravings of foods observed more this week than usual, >50% of participants in all stages responded "No". However, 56.4% of participants in menses stage responded "Yes" to craving chocolate more frequently this week than usual. Regarding other questions related to food cravings, students in menses stage responded "Yes" to various additional food cravings at a higher percentage than those in follicular and luteal stage. Research has shown that hormone changes throughout the menstrual cycle are related to food cravings, particularly during menstruation. Management of these dietary practices and cravings would improve the nutritional quality of the diet and reduce risk of obesity and other chronic diseases including diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. |
