USA Today (11/4, Healy, 5.82M) reports, “The age at which puberty starts in some girls has continued to drop,” according to a 1,239-patient study published online Nov. 4 in the journal Pediatrics that suggests that “obesity may be a key trigger.”
The Boston Globe (11/4, Salahi, 1.75M) reports that previous studies have indicated that “girls are experiencing puberty much earlier than previous generations.” This study focused in particular on breast development in girls who were ages six to eight at study start in 2004 and who were followed since.
The NBC News (11/4, Aleccia, 6.79M) website reports that current figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that approximately 17 percent of US youngsters and adolescents may be considered obese. While obesity cannot be considered the cause of early puberty in girls, it may be “one of several factors – along with inactivity, and chemicals in food and water – that may be affecting the hormones that trigger sexual maturation,” the study suggests.
Medscape (11/4, Broder, 164K) reports that “as the girls’ BMI increased above the 50th percentile, the likelihood of earlier breast development increased,” the study found.
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