Abstract

The relatively late mean age at menarche and the delayed menarche of the dancers may show that late matures choose to be ballet dancers or that the hard training and low food intake typical of ballet dancers cause excessive thinness that delays puberty. The fact that most of the dancers began their training at young ages, and the high incidence of secondary amenorrhea and irregular cycles suggest that the latter factors - hard training and low in- take - contribute strongly to this phenomenon. The occurrence of menarche after an injury preventing dancing supports the hypothesis that a change in fatlean ratio and the accompanying changes in metabolic and hormonal levels characteristic of hard physical exercise may be involved in the delay of menarche and menstrual disturbances in these ballet dancers. A change in the ratio may also result from an increase in leanness, in addition to a decrease in fatness, without weight loss or even with weight gain, as found in many athletes. Verf.-Referat