Losing fat with weight loss diet, exercise? Bangalore doctor explains hidden health risks women often ignore

A 23-year-old woman has shared how extreme exercise affected her health. She revealed that working out intensely six times a week caused her menstruation to stop completely.

Her story from Zhejiang province in eastern China has gone viral. It has sparked a wide discussion on social media about fitness and health balance.

According to local media reports, hospital tests showed her female hormone levels had dropped to those of a 50-year-old woman. According to doctors, the young woman showed signs of kidney deficiency.

They advised her to stop exercising for a while. She was prescribed several traditional Chinese medicine treatments to help regulate her body.

The woman earlier weighed around 65 kg due to binge eating. In recent months, she became obsessed with fitness and weight loss.

She started exercising for about 70 minutes per session, six days a week. Over time, her periods became lighter and eventually lasted only two hours.

The woman also developed insomnia and hormonal problems. Reflecting on her experience, she said pushing her body too hard felt like destroying something valuable in pursuit of short-term gains.

According to a senior gynaecologist at Zhejiang Zhongshan Hospital, the woman’s condition is known as Exercise Associated Amenorrhea. It occurs when a person’s energy intake is too low while energy use is very high due to intense physical activity, Fan Yibing told the South China Morning Post.

According to Fan, when the body senses an energy shortage, it temporarily shuts down reproductive functions to protect basic survival.

The brain reduces the secretion of gonadotrophins, which leads to lower female hormone levels and stops ovulation. As a result, menstruation may become irregular or stop completely.

“For women, a body fat percentage of about 17% is considered to be the absolute minimum for the body to function in a healthy and hormonally balanced manner. A certain amount of fat in the body is necessary for women as it supports the production of oestrogen, which plays an important role in regulating the menstrual cycle, ovulation, bone health, fertility, and overall hormonal stability,” the Bangalore-based expert said.

“Unfortunately, the modern lifestyle and the growing trend of extreme weight loss and fat-loss challenges are leading many women to unknowingly reduce their body fat to below the healthy threshold. When body fat becomes too low, it may cause missed periods, infertility, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, hair loss, change in moods, and long-term risks like osteoporosis,” Dr Joshi said.

“The right way to lose fat is to do it slowly under medical supervision, with the focus being on metabolic and hormonal health in the long run, not just for the sake of appearance,” he added.