> *Overall, there was an increase in female fitness membership **throughout** **the period** examined, while the opposite was true for male counterparts.*


Above is a sentence I wrote that is supposed to mean "Over the period of 30 years, the number of women working out at a gym increased despite some fluctuations". In this sentence, I'm trying to ignore the changes in between and focus on the first and last years. I mean after everything that happened, the number increased.

My question is: Am I using "**throughout the period**" correctly here? Can it be used that way or must there be a consistent upward trend from start to finish for me to write it the way I did? If the sentence is currently incorrect, does adding **despite some fluctuations** make it right? 

[![enter image description here][1]][1]


  [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/eQt55.png