Managing the premenstrual body: a body mapping study of women’s negotiation of premenstrual food cravings and exercise

BACKGROUND: Women’s eating behaviours and exercise patterns have been found to fluctuate across the menstrual cycle, manifested by premenstrual food cravings and reduced exercise. However, the meaning and consequences of premenstrual changes in eating and exercise behaviours remains underexplored. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how women who feel negatively about their premenstrual bodies construct and experience premenstrual changes to eating and exercise practices, which disrupt their usual patterns of body management. METHODS: Four hundred and sixty women aged 18–45 completed an online survey in response to a Facebook advertisement targeted at women who feel negatively about their bodies during the premenstrual phase of the cycle. Participants reported moderate premenstrual distress, high body shame and high risk of disordered eating attitudes using standardised measures. Sixteen women reporting rich accounts of premenstrual body dissatisfaction were invited to participate in body-mapping, involving visually illustrating experiences on a life-sized outline of the body, followed by a telephone interview. Thematic analysis was used to explore qualitative survey, interview, and body-mapping data. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Results found that outside of the premenstrual phase these women engaged in restrictive eating and intensive exercise behaviours, which were disrupted by premenstrual cravings, hunger, fatigue, pain and feeling physically uncomfortable. For a minority of the women, this facilitated self-care in reducing the strict management of their bodies during the premenstrual phase. Others experienced feelings of guilt, shame, self-disgust and pushed their bodies physically through increased exercise. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasise the need to acknowledge changes in body management across the menstrual cycle, with implications for women’s mental health and feelings about the self. Internalisation of pressures placed on women to manage their bodies through restrictive eating behaviours and rigorous exercise plays a role in women’s premenstrual body dissatisfaction and distress. PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY: The current study aimed to explore how women who feel negatively about their premenstrual bodies construct and experience premenstrual changes to eating and exercise practices. Outside of the premenstrual phase these women engaged in restrictive eating and intensive exercise behaviours which were disrupted by premenstrual cravings, hunger, fatigue, pain and feeling physically uncomfortable. Some women allowed themselves to take a premenstrual break from their usual strict eating and exercise behaviours, whereas others felt guilt, shame, self-disgust and physically pushed their bodies through increased exercise. These findings emphasise that changes to eating and exercise behaviours across the menstrual cycle and pressures placed on women to manage their eating and exercise behaviours have implications for women’s premenstrual distress and body dissatisfaction.