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"Girl, Interrupted" Cookie Magazine September 2006
"Are there gender or lifestyle factors that contribute to premature puberty? Doc This is largely a concern for girls; we don't see many cases of premature puberty; meaning before the age of 9, in boys. One possible explanation for this is that the connection between increased body weight and early puberty doesn't exist for boys as it does for girls-early puberty in girls is mostly caused by obesity, one of the biggest health-care issues we are facing in this country. We've known for years that body fat can influence timing of reproduction; girls who are overweight tend to mature earlier. I published an article five years ago in Pediatrics in which we explored the link between a girl's body mass index(BMI) - calculated from height and weight - and puberty. We found that girls in early puberty have higher BMI's, on average, than other girls. The average 7-year-old girl has a BMI of 15 or 16. A BMI of only 10 percent higher - maybe 17 - would confer an increased likelihood of early breast development or pubic hair. ...." Doc - Paul Kaplowitz, M.D., Ph.D, a pediatric endocrinologist, is chief of endocrinology at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the author of Early Puberty in Girls(Ballantine) |
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