Adolescents, menstruation, and physical activity: insights from a global scoping review

Abstract

Background: Adolescent girls tend to be less physically active than boys, a trend that coincides with puberty. Menstruation may act as a barrier to physical activity, which in turn may influence menstrual symptoms. The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesise the global literature on the association between menstruation and physical activity among adolescents.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted across five databases, identifying studies on menstruation and physical activity in adolescents (aged 10-18 years) without date restrictions. Studies not in English, including only athlete populations and focusing solely on premenstrual syndrome were excluded. Titles and abstracts, followed by full texts were screened by two independent reviewers.

Results: Eighty-six studies were included, spanning 33 countries. Thematic synthesis of data from the selected studies suggests a bidirectional relationship in that menstruation may act as a barrier to physical activity due to symptoms, societal stigma and menstrual product access, while physical activity may alleviate symptoms for some. The review highlights variability in study methodologies, with most relying on self-report data.

Conclusion: This review provides insights into the varied experiences of adolescent girls' physical activity and menstruation, influenced by cultural, social, and resource-related factors. It makes important and timely recommendations for the direction of future research, which should employ longitudinal and mixed methods approaches to better understand the association between menstruation and physical activity in this population and address gaps regarding the mechanisms and magnitude of this relationship.

Keywords: Adolescents; Children’s health; Exercise; Menstruation; Physical Activity; Puberty; Reproductive health; Sport.

Fig. 1

PRISMA-ScR diagram of studies