Puberty starting earlier for many girls: study

(CBS News) 

Girls are reaching puberty in life earlier than ever, research shows.

About 15 percent of American girls now begin puberty by age 7, according to a study of 1,239 girls published last year in the journal Pediatrics. One in 10 white girls begin developing breasts by that age - twice the rate seen in a 1997 study. Among black girls, 23 percent hit puberty by age 7.

Special Section: Dr. Jennifer Ashton

On "The Early Show" CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, an OB-GYN who specializes in adolescent care, said "early puberty," also known as "precocious puberty," has risks for girls.

"You have to remember, this is occurring at a time of childhood development where all girls and children want to do is fit in and look like the person sitting next to them," Ashton said. "It can generate a lot of fear. It's not cute. Adults can look at it and say, 'Oh, how cute.' It's really an adult body, a developing adult body in a child's age.'"

Ashton said the effects on girls can be emotional as well as physical.

"We know that girls of that age can suffer from low self-esteem," she said. "They can be subjected to more peer pressure, increased risks of eating disorder, even depression. They are known to participate in sexual activity in an earlier age because of this. Also, they can be shorter because we know that estrogen is one of the key hormones in puberty closes off the growth plates and girls will not be as tall as if they went to puberty in a later age."

So why is this happening?

It's not clearly understood why this occurs, Ashton said, but some point to the rise in obesity.

"Body fat generates the hormone estrogen, partially," Ashton said. "Estrogen is part of the hormones that triggers puberty. A lot more children are overweight and obese. Environmental exposures, things like BPA (Bisphenol A) that are ubiquitous in our environment can have hormone-like activity and research is ongoing as to whether that plays a role. And your family history - if your mother went through early puberty, you have a greater chance of going through early puberty, as well."

Early puberty could affect girls as they get older, Ashton said. They have an increased risk of breast cancer and uterine cancer, she said, because these girls have more time to be exposed to the estrogen hormone.

"It's not a trivial thing by any means," Ashton said.

She recommends talking to a pediatrician if parents notice signs of puberty at a young age.

"This could be a very frightening process for a child as well as a parent," Ashton said.

Ashton is the author of "The Body Scoop for Girls."

[mjlewis6]

There is a dietary influence for this early development since so much of our food sources are hormone-driven and enhanced food stocks are geared towards fat production and more weight!! Likely cumulative absorbsion of these fat producing foods by young children does stimulate development.

Are we blind as well as ignorant of what we are doing?

[sarch7]

Stop giving the cows hormones that show up in the milk that these girls drink and you may solve the problem!!

[cktirumalai]

I have read that in past centuries women reached puberty later and had children earlier in life, and were therefore better protected against cancer. In our time, puberty comes earlier and a good number of women delay having children, making them more vulnerable to some kinds of cancer.
Candadai Tirumalai

[kkarnopp]

The use of dairy products has skyrocketed over the past several decades. Fat does, in fact, store hormones among pesticides and herbicides. And remember the dose of medicines are smaller for little bodies, should not the dosage of so called "healthy food" be smaller?
Even without added hormones cow milk is designed to grow a 25-30 pound calf into a 350-400 pound cow in one year's time. We humans should not be growing that fast. And here's a thought to ponder. How about the fact that humans are the ONLY species on the planet that drinks another species milk after the normal age of weaning? Is there something un-natural about that?
They was a time in the not too long ago history that fresh milk, 1. was not drunk so much as used in cooking, and in much smaller portions, and in season.
Cows were not artificially inseminated to push milk production for two calves a year instead of just the usual one. And those extra calves taken from their mothers two early, are put in restraining pens and fed unwanted (by humans) milk by-products till they are big, weak, unexercised calves that are then butchered to become veal. 2. Cheese was made over time and used in season when fresh milk wasn't so available.
3. Milk wasn't as certain to be particularly safe to drink after a day or so and didn't travel well.
4. It was expensive and difficult to get fresh milk in cities. But with pasteurization and refrigerated tanker trucks dairy products are easy to obtain and can be seen at a school lunch in the form of a cup sized portioned carton of milk, A grilled cheese sandwich, and a pudding cup for desert. Never mind that that same pint sized kid had milk on his cereal for breakfast, had a ride to school because it's unsafe to walk anymore; bused to her after school program where she gets cheese and crackers and encouraged to finish homework; and then because Mom and Dad are exhausted from working all day they stop at the store after picking up said kid to pick up some cheesy macaroni skillet dinner thing and plunk another glass of milk in front of the kid who in all likelihood will have cookies and more milk for a bedtime snack --maybe cheesy doodles.
Our children are growing taller every generation -- growth hormones
Puberty in girls is starting earlier and earlier. And I think boys puberty is starting earlier as well it's just not so easily noticed.
We can get plenty of calcium from green leafy things (and not that pitiful head lettuce either, nuts, lentils, and bean, and there is some in meat too.
Now we need to start detoxing our fruits and vegetables so the incidence of autism and ADHD, ADD, and other neurological disorders doesn't continue to stay on the rise. For each "acceptable amount" of pesticides and herbicides in each item of food that accumulates in fat cells of adults are also being put into our children. Even neurological disorders are on the increase in adults. MS, ALS, Fibromyalgia, neuropathies. And what about all those little fetuses? They get everything it's mom gets. Artificial fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides all contain chemicals that affect the nervous system of insects. That's how that are killed. Do you think it might, just maybe, affect humans --on little fetuses and subtlety accumulate in small to big bodies? Over a life time? Whew. It's just not safe to eat anymore.

[credibility2]

Too many growth hormones in too much food consumed by the parents that create the kid and what the kid consumes after they're born. What's in the food chain for humans is also contributing to drug resistance antibiotics because of too many antibiotics put in food for animals. I'm not a greenie and I don't advocate organics, but our food supply is having an impact on this. Too many people being born, which is leading food manufacturers to produce more food to keep up with the demand; fattening up cattle, chickens, irradiating food, etc. The use of artificial hormones is having an impact.

[tomillinois]

Can't blame this one on animal products, particularly meat. Hormone levels in meat are not affected enough by the use of growth promoting technologies to cause these kinds of changes. If it were hormones in animal products, why are they seeing similar trends in Europe where the use of these technologies is banned?
http://meatblogger.org/2009/12/05/hormones-in-my-organic-food-yep/

[mylufis]

I have yet to hear that all of the additives put in foods, beverages, animals, environment etc. have any effect. I get the impression that people are afraid to speak the truth. What do preservatives do? What do hormones do? I fear that we are just speeding up evolution to save/make a buck. I have met farmers who refuse to let their kids consume dairy products of cows that have been treated with hormones. They use the hormones because of the money they get from the drug manufactures. The integrity I learned as a child went right out the window with the baby and bath water.

[moemoelove]

No where in today's segment, was it mentioned that the hormones in the majority of the foods is what's causing premature puberty. Companies put pesticides, steroids, etc in the meats, and vegetables we eat. And all the processed foods and fast foods that's being eaten by these children and adults. It's causing way more than premature puberty. The high fructose corn syrup causes diabetes and obesity in foods. MSG triggers something in the brain that makes you want to keep eating the unhealty foods its in. And then you have partially hydrogenated soybean oil, really!! If you want ytour family and yourself to be healthier, try eating all natural organic foods, including meat. There are brands of meats that are bred free range and aren't fed any un-natural in-organic foods. There are chips and even cookies if you will that are all natural. As soon as I started myself and my daugfhter on all natural organic foods, we started feeling a major difference. We have more energy, better health, and enjoy learning to eat better.

[rwsmith29456]

"We know that girls of that age can suffer from low self-esteem," she said. "They can be subjected to more peer pressure, increased risks of eating disorder, even depression." This is going to be the case no matter what age the girl is.

[amerilatino]

Nope, girls can get really catty and be a royal pain in the @zz between middle-school and early high-school; when their parents won't put up with that, they usually vent by turning on each other in school, unless someone puts a stop to that too. The 'different' girl is usually a preferred victim. (The reason I know is because I raised three daughters in a house that was always full of their girl friends).

[floridianjulz]

How ignorant are the scientists that are looking into the matter. Where are their studies about all the growth hormones that are put into the animals in which we eat? I've thought that was the answer to this problem since we first started noticing this. Greed in this country to get our food to grow bigger and faster... well what do you think is going to happen to those that eat this food? Study this.....don't blame it on absurd ideas such as being overweight, etc. etc. Adding anything unnatural to our animal feed and vegetable feed obviously could have consequences. Quit debating about whether or not it should or shouldn't be used. If you don't understand the consequences... don't use it! Study it first... Geeze... how stupid and greedy do we really need to be?