Posted on 04/15/2011 8:17:40 PM PDT by TheDingoAteMyBaby
It’s a proven fact that girls are getting their periods as young as 7 years old, as detailed in last year’s Pediatrics journal, and both mom and daughter might not feel ready for such a life-changing event.
In order to help with the transition, Kotex has created a new line of pads and panty liners designed to fit a tween. U by Kotex Tween are smaller and come in glittery, tween-inspired packages with an information booklet, the company said in a press release.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Hormones in fatty foods (meat, milk, cheese) and an increase in childhood obesity are probably causing this.
Not surprising in the least.
Disturbing, but not surprising.
A friend of mine is a single dad raising his daughter, who will be twelve next month. Her mother (my best friend) died three years ago. I feel for him having to figure out a way to teach her about her cycle, if he hasn’t had to already.
They have done numerous studies. The hormones in foods have been disproven over and over. There is no difference in the levels of hormones in milk products from organic sources than in dairy farms.
One doctor at Duke University suggested that better prenatal care may have something to do with it.
Good to know. Thank you.
Teaching the biology of it is the easy part, compared to trying to deal with the overt sexualization of children from todays culture. When you listen to what passes for popular culture - the music, the movies, everything that’s easily accessible on the internet - - I don’t know how any parent does it...
I wish them all good luck, the kids will need it.
While much about early puberty remains a mystery, researchers say that suspects include:
•Obesity. The clearest influence on the age of puberty seems to be obesity, Steingraber says. In general, obese girls are much more likely to develop early than thin ones. And the number of heavy girls is growing, with 30% of children overweight or obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Obesity raises the levels of key hormones, such as insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar, and leptin, a hormone made in fat cells that helps regulate appetite, Steingraber says. While leptin may not trigger puberty by itself, research suggests that puberty can’t start without it.
Scientists aren’t yet sure whether insulin - or the body’s problems processing it - is a factor in early puberty, Steingraber says.
•Prematurity. Rising rates of prematurity - which have increased 18% since 1990 - may contribute to early puberty, as well.
Babies born early or very small for their gestational age tend to experience “catch-up growth” that can lead them to become overweight, Steingraber says. Children who undergo rapid weight gain tend to become less sensitive to the hormone insulin, putting them at greater risk for diabetes, Steingraber says.
•Genetics. Studies consistently show that black girls in the USA go into puberty earlier than whites, suggesting a possible genetic difference. Yet Steingraber notes that, 100 years ago, black girls actually matured later than whites. And she notes that black girls in Africa enter puberty much later than those in the USA, even when their nutrition and family incomes are comparable.
Kaplowitz notes that black girls in the USA tend to have higher levels of insulin and leptin. He notes that researchers are trying to figure out how problems in the body’s response to insulin, which are more common among American blacks, might also affect the start of puberty.
•Environmental chemicals. A variety of chemicals - found in everything from pesticides to flame retardants and perfume - can interfere with the hormone system, Herman-Giddens says. For example, chemicals used to soften plastic, called phthalates, can act like hormones. In a small study of 76 girls in Puerto Rico, researchers found that 68% of girls who went through early puberty had been highly exposed to phthalates, compared with only 3% of girls developing normally.
Steingraber is also concerned about an estrogen-like chemical, called BPA, or bisphenol A, that is found in hard plastics, the linings of metal cans and many other consumer products. Although BPA can cause early puberty in animals, its role in humans isn’t as clear. But studies by the CDC show that more than 90% of Americans have BPA in their bodies.
The National Institutes of Health is funding research to answer questions about environmental causes of early puberty and hormonal changes, says Frank Biro, director of adolescent medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Biro and colleagues are testing more than 1,200 girls for their exposure to chemicals such as BPA, phthalates, pesticides and chemical flame retardants. The National Children’s Study, also funded by the federal government, will study 100,000 children, from before birth through age 21, looking at a variety of environmental exposures.
•Screen time. There’s no evidence that watching sexy TV images can trigger puberty, but spending too much time in front of the screen can harm kids in other ways, such as causing them to gain weight, Steingraber says.
Preliminary research also suggests that screen time may hasten puberty by lowering levels of a critical hormone called melatonin, whose production is regulated by the daily cycles of light and dark, and which appears to keep puberty at bay, Steingraber says.
•Family stress. Family relationships also may play a role in the start of puberty. Preliminary research suggests that girls may be more likely to develop early if they experience more family stress, or if they don’t live with their biological fathers, says Julianna Deardorff, a clinical psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley’s school of public health.
I suspect the increased inclusion of soy in many food products has contributed to early puberty.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=soybean-fertility-hormone-isoflavones-genistein
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/articles/children.htm
And, naturally:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/soy/index
Oh, like the training bra?
I’m putting my money on soy and the use of hair products that contain mare’s placenta.
“use of hair products that contain mare’s placenta.”
Hmmm??
It’s the high protein diet, nothing more.
I agree with you there. Obesity is a sign of a more-than-adequate diet, and a higher intake of protein, especially in Western civilization goes with that, along (of course) with the higher levels of simple carbohydrates that lead to obesity. A diet higher in protein leads to increased growth rates, and better immunity--not things to be avoided.
No they are not. But nothing has only one side. Increased growth rates mean an earlier onset of menarch and with that an earlier interest in....other things. Personally I think all this stuff about chemicals, hormones, and mares placentas are a bunch of hogwash. American kids get access to more high quality animal and plant proteins than any other society on the planet. Hell, they get more protein than almost any society in history.
It's no wonder they mature faster and grow larger than their parents. One need only look at the children of immigrants to see the evidence.
L
It would make sense that women who are well-fed and under little stress would start to menstruate earlier.
Instead of going after BPA, why not the soy in virtually every food item? BPA sounds like the straw man. It must be hard to start your cycle at 7! I cannot imagine. Estrogen is stored in fatty tissue, so it makes sense that bigger girls start sooner. I would be interested to see a comparison between underweight and overweight girls. My doc told me to stop running and gain a little weight to start my cycle.
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