title: Change in women's eating habits during the menstrual cycle.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  During the menstrual cycle, the influence of hormonal variations on dietary habits in women has been suggested by several studies. In this context, our work aimed to assess the spontaneous food intake and the anthropometric parameters of women at different periods of their menstrual cycles.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective study included 30 healthy women with regular periods (28 to 30 days), aged between 18 and 45. We assessed the spontaneous food intake and the anthropometric measurements (weight and waist circumference) of the participants, during the follicular, peri-ovulatory and luteal phases of their menstrual cycles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results showed a slight but significant increase in body weight during the luteal phase (P=0.022) and the follicular phase (P=0.017) compared with the peri-ovulatory phase, without any significant change in waist circumference. The caloric intake increased during the peri-ovulatory (P<0.001) and the luteal phases (P<0.001), compared with the follicular phase, with a significant increase in carbohydrate (P<0.001), lipid (P=0.008) and protein (P=0.008) intake.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study showed a significant decrease in women's weight during the peri-ovulatory phase, with a significant increase in caloric intake during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Divergent results have been reported by other authors and the physiopathology of these changes is still poorly understood.
authors.affiliation: Service d'endocrinologie et des maladies métaboliques, Institut national de nutrition et des technologies alimentaires, 11, street Jebel Lakhdhar, 1007, Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisia. Electronic address: ines.kamoun@planet.tn.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kammoun
authors.affiliation: Service d'endocrinologie et des maladies métaboliques, Institut national de nutrition et des technologies alimentaires, 11, street Jebel Lakhdhar, 1007, Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Wafa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ben Saâda
authors.affiliation: Service d'endocrinologie et des maladies métaboliques, Institut national de nutrition et des technologies alimentaires, 11, street Jebel Lakhdhar, 1007, Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Amira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sifaou
authors.affiliation: Service d'endocrinologie et des maladies métaboliques, Institut national de nutrition et des technologies alimentaires, 11, street Jebel Lakhdhar, 1007, Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Emna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haouat
authors.affiliation: Service d'endocrinologie et des maladies métaboliques, Institut national de nutrition et des technologies alimentaires, 11, street Jebel Lakhdhar, 1007, Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Hajer
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kandara
authors.affiliation: Service d'endocrinologie et des maladies métaboliques, Institut national de nutrition et des technologies alimentaires, 11, street Jebel Lakhdhar, 1007, Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ben Salem
authors.affiliation: Service d'endocrinologie et des maladies métaboliques, Institut national de nutrition et des technologies alimentaires, 11, street Jebel Lakhdhar, 1007, Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ben Slama
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cycle menstruel; Eating habits; Femme; Habitudes alimentaires; Menstrual cycle; Poids; Weight; Women