They began to notice a pattern of fluctuations throughout a woman's 28 day menstrual cycle and saw a sharp spike in the level of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in pregnant women, and nowhere else.
Bulimia can also lead to endocrine changes, the most common of which is menstrual irregularities in women, who might even develop amenorrhea, where either the normal menstrual cycle stops or menstruation doesn't start by age 15.
I study puberty. We know that an earlier age that a girl starts breast development and the earlier age that she starts her period, the greater the risk for breast cancer.
There is some evidence that men are more attractive to women when they are in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle, and their testosterone levels are at their highest.
Most women have a normal puberty with regular periods before the disorder develops, but then start having troubles when premature ovarian failure occurs.