Girls getting period younger

One in 16 Kiwi girls – some as young as 8 – will get their period while at primary school, according to first-of-its-kind national data.

The new statistics, taken from the Ministry of Health’s annual NZ Health Survey and analysed by University of Otago researchers, reveal the age of first periods is getting younger, falling in line with global trends. It’s the first time New Zealand has collected national data on the age at which girls first start menstruating.

Dr Sarah Donovan, from the university’s Department of Public Health, said international data had already shown the age of first periods was decreasing globally, with factors such as an increasing body mass index (BMI) in children a likely contributing factor.

Donovan, a Wellington-based sociologist, said it was important to target health education to an even younger age group in order for young girls to manage their periods without disruption to their schooling.

‘‘Primary schools need to ensure that sanitary disposal units are provided in girls’ toilets.’’

The Ministry of Education has said it did not have a role in ensuring that schools provided sanitary disposal units and had no plans to require this.

Donovan said children in lower socio-economic groups were at a higher risk of obesity through being less able to afford healthy, nutritious food.

The link between obesity and early-onset periods relates to the fact that fat cells make estrogen. The more fat cells you have, the more estrogen your body makes.

It’s believed that an overabundance of it could lead to earlier menstruation.

Girls, especially those from poorer backgrounds, getting their periods younger than usual can also create an additional stress in the form of period poverty.

‘‘A lack of access to sanitary items is a serious and hidden equity issue which needs to be addressed to support these young girls, particularly those of primary school age,’’ Donovan said.

‘‘It’s really a matter of child rights that no girl, of any age, should miss school because her family could not afford menstrual products.’’

Pharmac last April rejected a request to fund all women’s sanitary items.