Menopause TLI ! Too Little Information says Avon report

Image used for illustrative purposes only

Direct selling company  Avon released a first-of-its-kind global study that reveals women around the world are unprepared and uninformed when it comes to menopause.

Carried out across globally, co authored by women’s health GP Dr. Sarah Jarvis, the study—titled “Menopause TLI. Too Little Information surveyed women aged 45–65 years old, who were either experiencing or had experienced menopause. The research revealed the onset phase of menopause left women feeling most unprepared.

Menopause TLI. Too Little Information

  • More than two-fifths (44%) of women globally were unaware of perimenopause until they started to have symptoms.
  • Over a third of the women surveyed said that they used online resources as a source of information above gynaecologists, GPs and friends.
  • Nearly half (46%) did not expect perimenopause when it started.
  • 44% felt anxious during perimenopause. For Indian women this figure was high (71%).
  • 36% state they still didn’t understand the two phases, perimenopause and menopause, despite being in one of these phases.
  • 46% of women did not feel prepared for menopause.

The report showed that globally, menopause is a subject that women are still reluctant to discuss. In fact, rather than looking to friends, partners or GP for advice and support, many women are turning to internet resources.

Image used for illustrative purposes only

  • Despite perimenopause/menopause often following maternal patterns, only 6% of women globally said they would discuss the matter with their mother.
  • A quarter of women (23%) feel uncomfortable / very uncomfortable discussing menopause with their partner.
  • As many (22%) felt uncomfortable/very uncomfortable discussing the topic with their friends.

Image used for illustrative purposes only

Gina Ghura, head of Future Innovation at Avon said, ‘we undertook this global menopause study to better understand women’s experiences at this time in their lives. By looking at the physical changes shared by so many, we knew we could support women through our product innovation and develop something that would be both functional and enjoyable to use.” “We’ve spent years in laboratories researching the impact of hormones on our skin, and when looking specifically at the impact of menopause and perimenopause we released it was a massively under-discussed topic,” she added. “Women didn’t realize why their skin was changing or how to manage those fluctuations. We call this ‘TLI—Too Little Information.’ In a world of social media, we are used to sharing and even over-sharing. We are all familiar with the term TMI: Too Much Information—from pimples and cellulite to hospital baby scan images. But for some reason menopause is under-discussed and therefore misunderstood,” she explained

 “Much more needs to be done to explain the stages of menopause and eliminate that element of shock,” said Dr Jarvis, a General Practitioner. Women think menopause is something that happens in their 50s, whereas most often they start to experience symptoms far earlier with the little-communicated phase, perimenopause. The hormonal shifts can have a major impact on mood and how we feel about ourselves. They can disrupt sleep and concentration and affect your weight, skin, hair and energy levels. This can be confusing and worrying for women and their loved ones. Knowing what’s happening is the first step in managing those symptoms and navigating this natural process with lessened impact.”

Avon has developed a new range of products to work in harmony with fluctuating hormones. Later this year they will launch the first of those specifically to support women through the hormonal effects on the skin during menopause. Through a global community of five million Reps, Avon hopes to support women’s emotional experiences by opening up conversations on this topic.

For the full report visit the company’s website.

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