KATU 2 News - Portland, Oregon
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Is obesity causing the early onset of puberty in girls?
May 8, 2006
- By Shellie Bailey-Shah
and KATU.com Web Staff
PORTLAND, Ore. - Most parents would agree that kids are growing up fast these days, but it may surprise you that doctors and scientists agree as well, especially when it comes to girls.
Before girls start first grade, some of them are starting a change we associate with teenagers - puberty.
It is supposed to be an age of innocence, but little girls are growing up fast, both on the inside and the outside.
As early as kindergarten, girls are starting to change.
"Now it really is that in a Caucasian child having breast budding at the age of 7 is considered normal, and in an African-American as young as the age of 6 would be considered within the range of normal," said Dr. Daniel Marks, OHSU Pediatric Endocrinology.
One 10-year-old girl who spoke with KATU News said her breast development started at age 6.
We will call her 'Sarah' to shield her from any embarrassment.
"I was kind of scared that other girls weren't going through that and I felt more different," she said.
Sarah and her mom were referred to a specialist and the girl underwent an ultrasound of her ovaries and a MRI was ran on her brain. Eventually, Sarah was diagnosed with precocious puberty.
"I didn't want her to be teased," Sarah's mother said. "I didn't want people to notice, so at first we would just double up on shirts."
However, like with other girls, doubling up on the shirts only worked for so long.
"When I'm changing and all the girls just throw on a shirt and I'm putting on my bra, they're asking me why I'm wearing that thing," Sarah explained.
So why are girls starting to become women so much earlier than their moms did when they were young?
It has long been known that girls mature faster than boys, both physically and emotionally, but for some reason, girls are starting that process at an even earlier age.
"It's not a little girl's body anymore," said mother Kirsten Jacobson-Croak. "She's 10 and developing more."
Some people question whether hormones in milk are to blame, but OHSU Researcher Dr. Sergio Ojeda says no.
Dr. Ojeda studies early puberty in kids and while he says milk hormones do not seem to play a part in puberty, other environmental factors do, factors like pesticides and chemicals in plastics.
Take something as simple as a plastic water bottle.
"Chemicals slowly get released into the water and then when you drink the water or eat the food, you get exposed to the plastic," said Ojeda.
In mice, that chemical has been shown to induce early puberty in females, but for reasons researchers cannot explain, the same chemical delays puberty in boys.
However, the biggest contributing factor to early puberty in young girls appears to be obesity. The heavier the girl, the earlier her breasts develop and the earlier her period begins.
Doctors say because of diet, young African-American and Hispanic girls tend to be heavier than Caucasians, and start puberty sooner.
The reason why weight matters is because when the body senses it has extra calories, enough to sustain a pregnancy, the fat tissues release a signal into the bloodstream. That signal then travels to the brain, telling it that sexual development is a 'go.'
Doctors see the opposite happen in girls who suffer from anorexia. When the body is starved of calories, the first thing it does is shut down sex hormones.
So what can you do to help your children?
Experts say you should start talking to them about their bodies at an early age, like 2 or 3, and keep talking. As they get older and the questions become more specific, the kids can feel comfortable continuing the conversation.
Then there are the emotional changes that take place during puberty.
"I've been more emotional than all of my friends," said Sarah. "If something little goes wrong, I'll go to my room and cry."
"She's just up and down because it's every aspect of going through puberty early," said Sarah's mother. "It's (like) dealing with a teenage girl."
Doctors have found a way to delay one part of Sarah's puberty - the start of her period.
Every month, she gets a shot of Lupron Depot and when her friends start catching up to her, she will stop the shots and let nature continue on its course.
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yeah I've long noticed this; its quite disturbing actually.
Obesity causing the early onset of puberty in girls
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