Early puberty in girls has become quite a common sight these days and experts are holding obesity responsible for this. They have reached this conclusion after studying about 354 girls from age 3 to 12. During the course of study they found that the higher a girl’s body mass index, or fat mass, at age three, the more likely she was to reach puberty by the time she steps in ninth year of her age.
However, the way childhood obesity kicks off earlier puberty is girls is still not clear to the researchers. Still, experts are assuming that more secretion of hormones from more fat cells of the body may be the main culprit behind this. Throwing more light on this puzzle Dr. Joyce Lee, an assistant professor in the division of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Michigan said:
We don’t know if puberty is causing the weight gain, or the weight gain is causing puberty.
Whatever is the reason behind early puberty but it is really a worrying issue because it has been proved that early puberty increases girls susceptibility to psychiatric disorders like depression and anxiety along with behavioural problems as bullying and truancy. In addition, girls passing through this phase have also been found drinking alcohol and having sex at an earlier age, increasing risk of teenaged pregnancy. They also have higher rates of obesity and breast cancer as adults.
Let’s find out what negative effects have been associated with earlier puberty:-
• Early Puberty Linked To Stress?
• Early Puberty May Mean Anxiety, Abnormal Eating Behaviors Later
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