Girl's reaching puberty earlier

[mama1803]

Any thoughts on this?

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/nm/us_puberty_earlier

[lazzybee]

I read this earlier today and was thinking the "why" is incredibly obvious, yet the doctors are unsure? People with less money or less access to good food are going to consume more processed/hormone-packed food and, therefore, be obese and/or start puberty earlier.
Makes me sad. (Sad because these dangerous "foods" shouldn't even be available, let alone marketed for children)

[One_Girl]

I don't think that was a very well researched piece. My dd has started early and she has never been anywhere near the top of the weight chart. We also don't eat a lot of pre-packaged garbage. I heard that there was a study that talked about the decrease in malnutrition and healthier food choices leading to earlier puberty also. I think they just don't know what causes early puberty and a bunch of people who are scared of it are making up stuff.

Their point about kids being treated differently by adults was good. I think that makes a big difference in how kids view themselves, especially when they can't live up to an expectation that they behave like their non-developing peers or like a child who is far older.

[CarrieMF]

used a standard measure of breast development to determine which girls had started puberty.

I don't think this is the most reliable way of determining which girls started puberty early, especially if these girls were overweight. Being overweight will naturally cause more fat in the breast area. Breast development is not always the first sign of puberty either.