'Leptin is the hormone that inhibits hunger so diet drinks like Diet Coke actually make you hungry and less satisfied with normal amounts of food, and finally when you eat or drink a lot of chemicals that your body simply cannot break down, your body makes more and more internal fat to wrap the chemicals in keeping those harmful chemicals away from your vital organs.
Also, a few things can cause early menopause such as smoking. If you've had a hysterectomy (the removal of the uterus without the removal of your ovaries) you may go into menopause a little earlier than you normally would have because of the decreasing hormones and waning effects on the ovaries.
(And it's not menopause if your periods stop for some other reason, like being sick.) The average age of menopause is 51, but for some women it happens as early as 40 or as late as 55. After you go through menopause, you are considered in the post-menopausal stage of your life.