GIRLS who are overweight at the age of three risk reaching puberty as early as nine years old, a US study suggests.
The research, published in the journal Pediatrics, adds to mounting evidence suggesting childhood obesity is causing the trend of earlier puberty in girls. Studies suggest girls who reach puberty earlier than the “normal” age of 10 and above also start drinking alcohol and begin having sexual intercourse sooner.UK experts said early puberty could cause girls significant distress.They are also at increased risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer.The “normal” age for a girl to show the first signs of puberty is generally accepted as 10 and above.But Dr Joyce Lee and colleagues at the University of Michigan Health System found many girls, who had been overweight as children and toddlers, reached puberty aged nine.Of the 354 girls they followed from the age of three up to 12, almost half (168) showed signs of puberty – breast development – by their ninth birthday.Many of these girls had a high ‘body mass index’ – a calculation of metric weight divided by height squared, which doctors use as a measure of obesity – throughout their childhood..BBCStudies suggest girls who reach puberty earlier than the “normal” age of 10 and above also start drinking alcohol and begin having sexual intercourse sooner.UK experts said early puberty could cause girls significant distress.They are also at increased risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer.The “normal” age for a girl to show the first signs of puberty is generally accepted as 10 and above.But Dr Joyce Lee and colleagues at the University of Michigan Health System found many girls, who had been overweight as children and toddlers, reached puberty aged nine.Of the 354 girls they followed from the age of three up to 12, almost half (168) showed signs of puberty – breast development – by their ninth birthday.Many of these girls had a high ‘body mass index’ – a calculation of metric weight divided by height squared, which doctors use as a measure of obesity – throughout their childhood..BBC
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