#earlyage #familyproblems #puberty #stress

WHY AVERAGE PUBERTY AGE IS DROPPING?

by Shagufta Faheem December 04, 2017 0 Comments

Why puberty age is declining? This is the major issue now a days. The average age that a girl started puberty was fourteen and a half. By 2010, that age had dropped to ten and a half and researchers see the age continuing to decrease by four or five months every decade. In every country average puberty age is different like in black girls average age of puberty is 8.8 years old; Hispanic girls at 9.3 years old; and white and Asian girls at 9.7 years old. Those are averages, meaning some girls started puberty at eleven or twelve, but others started even younger than 8 years old.

When puberty begins early, it means that the body’s normal maturing process has sped up. Although we might think of puberty beginning with periods, the first sign of puberty is typically breast budding. Often breast budding starts earlier in girls with a higher body mass index, the weight-to-height ratio that doctors and nutritionists use to determine obesity. Body fat creates a surplus of estrogen in our body, and more estrogen means girls starting puberty earlier.

Factors Which Contribute the Early Puberty:
Following are the factors which cause early puberty in girls

Stress:
Stress can be a factor in everything from chronic headaches to heart disease, and starting puberty early is no different. High levels of stress in the home, including arguing, violence, poverty, or sexual abuse, can actually change the functioning of neural endocrine system.

Family Structure:
Family structure can also affect the age at which a girl begins her period. A girl who grows up without her biological father in the home is “twice" as likely to get her period before age twelve.

Exposure To Environmental Toxins:
Another factor which cause early puberty is an increase in exposure to environmental toxins. Endocrine disrupting chemicals or EDCs which are commonly found in plastics and pesticides can imitate the hormones in body. These are all around us like in water bottle, furniture or food. Some EDCs can also cause obesity, Unfortunately, EDCs are so much a part of our lives, it’s almost impossible to eliminate them.