How's your physical timing - includes recommended dietary allowance - Young Dancer - Column

Dance Magazine, Nov, 1996 by Linda Hamilton

AMENORRHEA is not a word that immediately leaps to the minds of young female dancers when they consider physical timing. Yet many students are aware, either from their own experiences or comments from others, that it's possible to stop menstruating--or never to start at all! Secondary amenorrhea is the medical term for missing three consecutive menstrual cycles, although this is generally not considered to be a problem until six months have passed. Primary amenorrhea is the term for not having gone through puberty by the age of fifteen. Is either of these a problem? It depends on whom you ask.

WHAT YOUR FRIENDS THINK

Most girls want to fit in with their peers. If you're not in dance or sports, this means going through puberty at an average age of twelve. In fact, it is often a status symbol, because it transforms you from a child into a young adult. The most obvious physical changes that occur over the next four years include the development of breasts and hips. Research shows that high school girls whose maturation is the same as their friends are happier than those who are "off-time" during puberty.

The onset of physical timing is completely different in dance. Although genetic makeup does play a role in menarcheal age (onset of menstruation), dancers' intense exercise, low weight, and dieting typically delay puberty by one or two years. Because fewer "curves" are generally better in dance, this delay is considered an asset, even though dancers differ from their nondancing peers. Some dancers even mistakenly believe that it is never good to menstruate, because they are afraid that their bodies will change dramatically. This is a dangerous and inaccurate idea.

WHAT YOUR DOCTOR THINKS

A number of physical problems can occur if amenorrhea is prolonged. First, there is less estrogen circulating in your body, so your bones lose calcium. This can lead to stress fractures! Amenorrhea can also delay the closure of your growth plates, making portions of the growing bones more vulnerable to in jury. Finally, the longer you keep growing, the greater the chance of developing mild scoliosis (an abnormal curvature of the spine).

To protect you from these problems, many doctors now recommend that dancers who are amenorrheic should undergo low-dose estrogen replacement therapy. This does not make you gain weight or change your body; however, it does help to close your growth plates and keep the calcium in your bones.

Nutrition is also an important consideration, since dancers often become amenorrheic from dieting. It may be helpful to you to see a registered dietitian if this happens to you. A healthy female should have 1,500 mg. of calcium in her daily diet. Foods rich in calcium include dairy products, salmon, tofu, soybeans, broccoli, and spinach.

Adolescence is an exciting time, when your body and mind are developing in a variety of ways. It's also the time when you acquire almost half of your bone density, which must last a lifetime. So it's important not to forget this other aspect of physical timing. The future health of your bones may depend on it.

Recommended dietary allowance: 1,200-1,500 mg. of calcium per day Each of the following is equivalent to 1 cup milk or 300 mg. calcium:

1 cup low-fat/skim milk

1 cup yogurt

1 oz. Swiss cheese

1-1/2 oz. cheddar cheese

1-1/2 oz. American cheese

1-1/4 cups creamed cottage

cheese

6-1/2 oz. tofu

2 cups soybean

3 oz. sardines

6 oz. salmon

3 cups broccoli

1 cup kale/collards

1-1/2 cup spinach

1-1/4 cup bokchoy

For example, the day's required calcium could come from:

1 cup yogurt, 2 oz. Swiss cheese, 1 cup milk, 1-1/2 cups spinach.