Girls Seem to Undergo Puberty Earlier

Girls today are more likely to start developing breasts by age 7 or 8 compared to girls in the past, a new study reveals.

The research is the latest among numerous studies made over the past decade which showed similar conclusions and have sparked debates over why and how girls are experiencing puberty earlier.

“Our analysis shows clearly that the white participants entered puberty earlier than we anticipated,” said Dr. Frank M. Biro, the first author of the study and the director of adolescent medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Childhood obesity is suspected to be major cause since increased body fat will also produce an increased level of sex hormones. Other scientists speculate that environmental substances act like estrogen, and if allowed to enter the body may hasten the process of puberty.

Early puberty has some additional health implications. Some studies also say that girls who had early menstruation, the standard measure of the start of puberty, may expose themselves longer in their lifetime to estrogen and progesterone, which can promote certain tumor growths.

The study also suggests that early breast growth increases the risk for cancer.

Early breast development are also seen more in overweight or obese girls, but the researchers suspect some chemicals may also play a role in speeding up puberty. However, they have yet to study the relationship between these chemicals and hormonal growth.

“It’s certainly throwing up a warning flag,” Dr. Biro said. “I think we need to think about the stuff we’re exposing our bodies to and the bodies of our kids. This is a wake-up call, and I think we need to pay attention to it.”

Posted by George Daniels on Monday August 09 2010, 11:03 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0