Amenorrhea is the little-known medical disorder where women miss one or more menstrual cycles due to poor health and nutrition, with factors including restricting calories, stress, over-exercising, and not getting enough vitamins and minerals contributing toward the condition.
A new piece of research commissioned by the UK’s National Cherry Association, Love Fresh Cherries has revealed that the health crisis is becoming a growing concern, with a staggering two-thirds of British women (62%) experiencing a loss of periods for three months or more, and over half of British women (52%) missing a period at least once in their lifetime.
The survey revealed a huge lack of awareness about the condition amongst women, with almost two in five (39%) saying they’d never heard of amenorrhea, and a further 10 percent believed that it was either a sexually transmitted disease, an eating disorder, or a made-up word.
As many as one in two women (48%) polled were unable to correctly define a menstrual cycle, with 85 percent of them seeking greater education on women’s health, and menstruation cited as the number one subject that they would like more in-depth information about from a younger age.
Despite the recent social movement for more body positivity, the survey also found that UK women still experience social pressures to be a certain weight, with 57 percent admitting that their number one reason for exercising is for weight loss, and some women even admitted to restricting their calories to a mere 1,000 a day (18%), which is half of what the NHS recommends at 2,000 calories per day.
The Love Fresh Cherries survey found, a further 32 percent of women said that they workout to improve their own body image and nearly half (47%) said they still care heavily about their physical appearance.
With the majority of UK cherry shoppers being women (70%), Love Fresh Cherries is on a mission to help raise awareness of amenorrhea through its ‘No Period, pants’ campaign in a bid to improve women’s awareness of nutrition and its impact on overall health at large.
Launching on June 8th, Love Fresh Cherries has enlisted the help of a selection of female experts to raise awareness of the little know condition, with a film sharing their personal stories, insights, and thoughts on the findings. Further information on the ambassadors can be found below along with bios in Notes to Editors section:
● Le’Nise Brothers – celebrated nutritionist and author of ‘You Can Have a Better Period’
● Chloe Hodgkinson – amenorrhea and female health advocate
● Jordan Foster – coach and runner, who experienced amenorrhea
● Dr Frankie Phillips – independent registered dietitian and member of the British Dietetic Association
Le’Nise Brothers, says: “I’m thrilled to be working on the launch of the #NoPeriodPants campaign, to help raise awareness of the growing condition amenorrhea. Periods are 100% natural, normal and healthy, so if women aren’t having periods when they have been previously, it’s a problem. With menopause and HRT no longer taboo topics, the time is now for better information and discussion on menstrual cycles.”
Chloe Hodgkinson says: “I’ve been down a rabbit hole of restrictive diets and endless cardio exercise regimes, trying to change my body and be the ‘fit one’, which led to me being diagnosed with amenorrhea. As a campaigner for female health, it’s great to be involved with the #NoPeriodpants campaign to help shine a light on what it means to skip a period. From my experience amenorrhea is something that not a lot of people have heard of but is something that thousands of women have gone through.”
Matt Hancock, of Love Fresh Cherries summarises the importance of this campaign: “With women making up a large proportion of cherry shoppers, we are on a mission to spread some cherry aid by raising awareness on health topics that are particularly pertinent to women. And with cherries also being packed full of vitamins and minerals, a lot of which can be beneficial to women, there’s a natural affinity. Through this survey, we hope to help raise awareness of the areas that women want more information on, to help them have better access to information on topics that affect them.”
For more information on amenorrhea and the #NoPeriodPants campaign, UK consumers can find a hub of content and advice on the Love Fresh Cherries website: www.lovefreshcherries.com/no-period-pants-2
