Survey study, 2025
Do body size and shape affect how often women have PMS symptoms?
Yes, women with overweight or obesity and apple-shaped bodies reported PMS symptoms more frequently than underweight or rectangular-shaped women.
What they did
Cross-sectional questionnaire study of 6,697 women aged 18-30 about 22 common PMS symptoms, using a 5-point scale. Women also reported their height, weight, and body shape using five silhouette types.
What they found
PMS symptom prevalence ranged from 61.0% to 97.2%. Overweight or obese women had the highest symptom frequency (mean 3.20-3.35 on the scale), while underweight and rectangular-shaped women had the lowest (2.98-3.25). Physical symptoms occurred less often (mean 3.12) than psychological and behavioral symptoms (mean 3.29).
What it means for you
Body size and shape are associated with PMS symptom frequency, with heavier women and apple-shaped bodies reporting more symptoms. However, this is observational, so we cannot say whether weight loss would reduce symptoms. Findings apply only to women aged 18-30.
6,697
women studied
61.0-97.2%
symptom prevalence range
3.20-3.35
symptom frequency in overweight/obese
About the study
- Original title
- Physical, Psychological, and Behavioral Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome in Relation to Body Size and Shape
- Authors
- Tutkuviene J, Gervickaite S, Sveikataite M et al.
- Journal
- American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 6,697
- What was tested
- None - this was an observational questionnaire study
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.70169
Topics
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