Le American girls they are now reaching puberty even at age 6-7, a phenomenon that scientists believe may be linked to childhood obesity, chemicals and stress. Experts explained that in the US the average age drops to ten, with African-American girls undergoing the trial on average a year earlier than their peers.
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Girls who reach puberty very early they are at greater risk of developing more types of cancer in addition to suffering from mental health problems such as depression or anxiety. The phenomenon was first detected by Marcia Herman-Giddens, a public health expert at the University of North Carolina, when she began collecting data on more than 17,000 girls in the mid-1990s. She found that the mean age of puberty was decreasinggoing down to ten, with some developing as early as six.
“I don’t think there is much controversy over whether obesity is a major contributor to precocious puberty,” he told the New York Times Natalie Shaw, pediatric endocrinologist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, underlining, however, to believe that there are other factors as well. One, for example, may be the prevalence of chemicals found in plastics girls are exposed to: Phthalates are used in many plastics to make them more durable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It’s a increased amount of stress could play a role: Experts already know that girls who are sexually abused they are more likely to experience early puberty. During the pandemic they also noticed an increase in reports of precocious puberty in girls around the world, a sign that the extremely stressful period was triggering the phenomenon.
Last updated: Friday 20 May 2022, 20:00
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