Early menarche and body dissatisfaction. a study in seven institutions of secondary education of Quito, Machala and Otavalo.

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore the relationship between early menarche and body dissatisfaction in adolescents enrolled in the Sierra region, in Quito and Otavalo cities, and on the Coast region, in
Machala city.
Method:
An exploratory study was carried out in seven educational institutions from Quito, Machala and Otavalo in the period 2013 – 2014. Sociodemographic information was collected through a semi-structured survey, from the eighth grade of basic to the second year of high school. A total of 708 girls and adolescents between 11 and 20 years old made up the sample.
Results:
In the Sierra region, the 58% of the adolescents presented early menarche versus 42% of cases in the Coast. The average age of menarche in the Sierra region was 12.3 and on the Coast was 12 years.
Conclusions:
The importance of this study was to show that early menarche in cities from the Sierra and the Coast is related to body dissatisfaction. The menarche, beyond a purely biological fact, evidences the physiological processes and psychic conditions (phenotype), as well as the norms of genetic reaction (genotypes) that are expressed in the ways of life, along with the protective or destructive processes that are present in the health process.
Keywords: menarche, teenagers, body image, schools.