Study: More girls entering puberty earlier

[Bateluer]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/09/girls.starting.puberty.early/index.html?iref=obnetwork

Girls in the United States are entering puberty at earlier ages than they have in the past, a new study reports.

More than 10 percent of white 7-year-old girls in the study, which was conducted in the mid-2000s, had reached a stage of breast development marking the start of puberty, compared to just 5 percent in a similar study conducted in the early 1990s.

[quotep]
Early puberty in girls is a growing public health concern because studies have shown that girls who start puberty earlier are more likely to develop breast and uterine cancer later in life. The National Institutes of Health funded the study as part of a larger investigation into the environmental factors that contribute to breast cancer risk.[/quote]

Jeebus, entering puberty at the tender age of 7 isn't what I would call ideal. Even at 16, you're still a kid and clueless about the world. Most don't usually get a brain until well into their 20s.

The article doesn't name a single specific cause, pointing to the rise of obesity, chemical processing in food, growth hormones, chemicals in plastic containers, etc, as contributing factors.

"If an 11- or 12-year-old girl looks like she's 16, people will interact with her as if she were 16," Biro says.

Who's get a pedobear pic handy?

 

[Vette73]

 

[StageLeft]

That comic is funny.

This is concerning, they said it was related to weight gain of these little fatties. I see fatty kids quite often. If I didn't know better one family I know has a pregnant 2 year old, that fvcking kid's tummy is totally outrageous. Plump kid but to look at its belly you'd swear it was either pregnant or had a big tumor (it doesn't). Cut that sh*t back, these people had donuts for breakfast one day this weekend. Donuts. For breakfast. And they're all fat as sin.

 

[shortylickens]

This isnt really news to me. I noticed it for a while. And its pretty darn irritating. Especially when you look at it from another point of view.

Shorty's opinion:
There are 3 types of maturity, intellectual, physical, and emotional. These days I see way too much speeding up of one, and coincidentally a slowing down of the other two. The effect is especially strong with females. I know correlation doesnt equal causation, but I would love to know why there is a correlation.

I've seen way too many 18-19 year olds at my college who clearly dont have the necessary emotional maturity to be outside the house on their own, much less trying to hold down a job and guide their lives independantly. Kinda scary actually. Interacting with an 11 year old as if she were 16 is NOT a good thing. Kids need to spend a little time being kids. Forcing acceleration just causes problems. That movie Thirteen is a prime example. Also theres a good book on this. Lemme go find it.

 

[Bateluer]

I've seen way too many 18-19 year olds at my college who clearly dont have the necessary emotional maturity to be outside the house on their own, much less trying to hold down a job and guide their lives independantly. Kinda scary actually.

I think that describes ALL 18-19 year olds though, but at that age, its time to start learning life's little lessons. The hard way, if needed.

 

[shortylickens]

http://www.amazon.com/Self-Esteem-Tr...1531408&sr=1-1

That one.
First few chapters talks about everything that went wrong in parenting philosophy when going from the WW2 generation to the baby boomers to Generation X. Not the least of which was parents assuming that their kids were intellectual and emotional equals, which they are not. The author doesnt cast blame as such, but she is very clear in pointing out some ideas that are completely wrong.

 

[shortylickens]

I think that describes ALL 18-19 year olds though, but at that age, its time to start learning life's little lessons. The hard way, if needed.

Thats fine but it wasnt my point. My point is because of either poor parenting or eagerness to grow up too fast, they are completely unequipped for the task. They skipped over too many maturity building experiences in their childhood and arent ready for the adult world yet.
You are partially correct, one way or another they will experience life. But I dont know they will automatically learn and do better. I seriously worry some of them are so messed up in their heads that lifes lessons wont sink in properly and they wont be better for it.

Case in point: We have lots of kids who've been in college for over a year and they still havent figured out how classes and school work and they whine about it, a lot. Its somehow always someone elses fault their work didnt get done properly and on time. The inability to learn how school works after a whole year is a lacking of intellectual maturity (again, just my opinion) and the angry lashing out at minor things or worse yet, the complete lack of any concern over major failures or success, is a lacking of emotional maturity.

And I dont agree it describes ALL 18-19 year olds cuz every once in a while I find one who doesnt have her head up her ass and is able to properly deal with shit. One of the people I'm thinking of was home schooled, and interestingly is both emotionally and intellectually equipped for college life. Weird.

 

[maddogchen]

i definitely think its because of obesity. i think your body determines when you have enough body fat to survive pregnancy that it triggers puberty and girls these days are getting to that point at an earlier age.

 

[JTsyo]

studies have shown that girls who start puberty earlier are more likely to develop breast and uterine cancer later in life

Wonder if early puberty is the cause or if the same things that cause early puberty can lead to cancer with further exposure.

 

[feralkid]

i definitely think its because of obesity. i think your body determines when you have enough body fat to survive pregnancy that it triggers puberty and girls these days are getting to that point at an earlier age.

I definitely think you are making shit up.

 

[Jmman]

I don't know what is causing this, but damn it sure seems like younger girls are more "built" for lack of a better term that they were when I was that age.......

 

[fleshconsumed]

I definitely think you are making shit up.

Maybe you should do some basic research then on body fat and pregnancy.

 

[hal2kilo]

I don't know what is causing this, but damn it sure seems like younger girls are more "built" for lack of a better term that they were when I was that age.......

genetic selection? Who likes itty bitty titties lol.

 

[daishi5]

I don't know what is causing this, but damn it sure seems like younger girls are more "built" for lack of a better term that they were when I was that age.......

I think I remember from my 101 psych course that early bloomers tended to be more successful and have more children. Perhaps it is being selected for, I also remember a discussion about this issue with girls hitting puberty earlier and earlier. The professor said the growth hormone and pesticide theories made no sense because the trend goes back all the way to somewhere around 1910. However, my psych professor was also a little off himself.

 

[shortylickens]

Maybe you should do some basic research then on body fat and pregnancy.

Well, I dont know about him but my "basic" study of body fat and pregnancy says that girls get pregnant first and then pack on the pounds. And if they are healthy and fit they lose it afterwards. I dont think getting fat leads to pregnancy, unless of course it means girls are too slow to run.
:awe:

 

[waggy]

I definitely think you are making shit up.

actually i think he is right. i seem to recall reading that . Since girls (and boys) are gaining more fat it fools the body into thinking its ready for children and the onset of puberty starts.

Though i also read a study that said girls are hitting puberty faster because they don't have a father figure in there life.

And the best is the hormone's and such in milk and meat are causeing girls to hit puberty faster.

either way whats for sure are girls are developing younger. not just obese but even the skinny girls are. i don't remember girls looking like they do now.

 

[Throckmorton]

Guys, this is BAD news for Pedobear, because presumably he prefers undeveloped children.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

exposure to hormones, chemicals and GMO in our diets

 

[Zedtom]

In many parts of the world a young girl is the the lowest ranking member in a society. A mother of children is revered as the saintly goddess of the family.

It's not too surprising that these girls want to have babies, and the sooner the better.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

In many parts of the world a young girl is the the lowest ranking member in a society. A mother of children is revered as the saintly goddess of the family.

It's not too surprising that these girls want to have babies, and the sooner the better.

:hmm:

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I wonder how much pollutants in our water plays a role. Also, could this be the beginning of the end for our use of plastics as a means of food storage?

 

[Amused]

I love how everyone jumps on the old hysteria standbys of chemicals in foods and the environment.

Especially when ONLY valid peer reviewed and repeated studies on the cause of early onset puberty have shown one cause: obesity, the availability of food, amount of exercise and eating habits.

A child doesn't just have to be physically obese to start puberty early. They can have a high metabolism and eat just as much food. It is because we are living in a time when food is the most available and plentiful in the history of man.

The studies do not say ONLY obesity causes it, but that which causes obesity cause the early onset of puberty. Plentiful food means faster development overall, not just fat.

If you read the wikipedia on Puberty, it lists all the suspected causes, and shows NO direct link between any of them EXCEPT nutritional and activity levels.

While we have noticed a drop in the age of puberty in our lifetimes, it MUST be noted that the age of puberty has been dropping ever since 1840 and probably before that. Only that's when anyone started to bother to record it.

And what has steadily been increasing since 1840 in western nations? Food. The availability of it and quality. What has been decreasing? Activity levels. Especially in the last 30 years.

Food, activity levels (and genetics) is the answer, folks. It's the only one that has been directly linked to the onset of puberty. AND it's the only thing that could explain the constant decrease in the age of puberty since 1840.

All the other "suspected" causes are nothing more than hypothesis based on animal research using ANIMAL hormones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puberty

 

[werepossum]

I had a niece by marriage back in the seventies who entered puberty at age seven, the doctors gave her drugs to suppress it because supposedly there are some bad side effects to early puberty - including high cancer rates and retarded growth spring to mind if I remember correctly. Personally I suspect the hormones and hormone-mimicking compounds because it seems to affect only the girls.

There are 11 and 12 year-olds with the bodies of 16 year-olds, granted, but they still look like little kids. Anyone who treats them like 16 year-olds is scum with no excuse in my (admittedly old and crotchety) view.

 

[JSt0rm]

giggity?

 

[Craig234]

Shorty's opinion:
There are 3 types of maturity, intellectual, physical, and emotional.

You know, there's an analogy somewhat to nations - they might develop, for example, their weapons systems to new heights of being able to destroy others, but are their politics developed to use those weapons (rather, to not use them)? Does their increase in wealth correspond to the social systems for avoiding poverty? (This was expressed by scientists when nuclear weapons were invented)

Anyway, on this topic, historically, hasn't the trend be for girls to marry at later ages, while puberty occurs at younger ages?

Has this created a sort of 'window' for pre-marital pregnancy, post-puberty but years of pre-marriage, that we haven't really dealt with all that well?

Don't the communities who speak loudest against pre-marital sex (e.g., deep south) have especially high rates of teen pregnancy?

Should we have the government invest in researching what programs can better deal with reducing teen pregnancy/increasing abstinence and birth control?