Therefore, while moderate dietary fat control is essential for adults to prevent excessive intake, it is unnecessary for adolescent girls in their growth and development phase.
Fat is an essential component of many tissues and organs in the body. Human health cannot do without fat. Various edible fats contain over 40 types of fatty acids, most of which can be converted from one another. However, three fatty acids cannot be synthesized from others and must be directly supplied by food—these are called essential fatty acids. A deficiency in essential fatty acids will inevitably affect health and lead to disease.
For instance, fat-soluble vitamins (including vitamins A, D, E, and K) require the presence of fat for absorption and utilization. Fat deficiency leads to deficiencies in these vitamins, causing corresponding diseases. During visual development, a lack of essential fatty acids can impair vision development.
Adolescent girls in their growth and development phase require substantial amounts of fat, particularly for sexual maturation.Research by Ross Allister at Harvard University's Center for Public Health found that female infants are born with genes that control gender development.
These genes only transmit genetic codes to the brain once body fat reserves reach a certain threshold before puberty, thereby triggering the production of sex hormones that initiate menarche and ovarian function.When body fat falls below 17%, menarche fails to occur. Only when body fat exceeds 22% can normal female functions—ovulation, menstruation, conception, and lactation—be sustained.
Domestic research also confirms that insufficient body fat in adolescent girls leads to female disorders.A study by Shanghai Medical University involving 87 female dancers revealed that excessive dietary restraint resulted in 20 individuals failing to experience menarche by puberty. Among these 20, 11 were aged 14–18, and 9 were over 18. Among those who had already menstruated, 27 exhibited irregular menstrual cycles, and 13 experienced intermittent menstrual cessation.