Girls always earlier in puberty

Girls reach puberty earlier and earlier. This leads to mental stress in the children.

(10.08.2010) The results of a new US study confirm that adolescence in children is starting earlier and suggests that this development will accelerate in the future. The study published in the journal Pediatrics makes it clear that girls in particular enter adolescence ever earlier and that a growing proportion of them develop their first sexual characteristics at the age of seven. Already other studies (girls always earlier sexually mature) came to similar conclusions.

1239 girls between the ages of seven and eight have the US researchers as part of their study for the Cincinnati Children´s Hospital, and found that 10.4 percent of white girls, 14.9 percent of Latin American and 23.4 percent of African-American girls started breast-feeding at the age of seven. The results were similar for hair in the pubic area, but on average the proportions were about 4 percent lower. A similar study from 1997 found that among the seven-year-olds, 15 percent of black and five percent of white girls had first breasts, illustrating the tendency for puberty to become more prevalent. Already at the beginning of the year, a study by the University Clinic of Copenhagen had shown that more and more girls are entering puberty before the age of ten, and that sexual maturity is reached on average a year earlier than in 1991.

But what does this mean earlier reaching sexual maturity for those affected? Especially for girls, the psychological stress with puberty increases enormously. Associated with this is in many cases a diminished self-esteem as well as problems in dealing with one's own sexuality. Often the girls are mentally simply overwhelmed with the early onset of puberty. In addition, there is an increased risk of cancer in adulthood due to early estrogen hormone production.

Which processes lead to the ever-earlier onset of puberty in children, is in the professional world but controversial. Conceivable are the most diverse relationships, such. With diet, with chemicals in our environment or with changes in hormone levels through the absorption of extra hormones. So came z. For example, a long-term study by the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at Brighton University found that high consumption of meat promotes the early onset of first menses in girls. In addition to nutrition, the above-mentioned study by the Copenhagen University Hospital also sees a possible connection with the mass use of various chemicals, such as: B. with „Bisphenol A“. This works in a similar way to the female sex hormone estrogen, but it is difficult to establish a clear association with the early onset of puberty, as we are exposed to innumerable chemicals throughout our lives; H. the originator of a particular process is difficult to determine. (Fb)

Also read:
Bisphenol-A causes infertility in women
Study: Girls getting sexually mature sooner

Image: Barbara Eckholdt, Pixelio.de.