Researchers and physicians hypothesized about possible causes for the increase in early puberty, such as increasing rates of obesity; greater exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in food, plastics, and personal-care products; and stressful or abusive home environments.
Some causes of early puberty in girls include thyroid disorders, abnormal brain structure, exposure to radiation therapy, or ovarian cysts. Genetic conditions may result in early puberty and can be detected with testing. In 90% of cases in girls, however, there is no known cause.
“For example, at the turn of the 20th century, the average age for an American girl to get her period was 16 or 17. Today, that number has decreased to 12 or 13 years.” It's not just girls, a study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that boys were starting puberty earlier than previously recorded.
Girls generally begin puberty about two years earlier than boys. Puberty for girls usually starts between the ages of 8 and 13. However, Black and Hispanic girls tend to start puberty earlier than white girls (age 7½ instead of 8).
Precocious puberty is rare, meaning it affects about 1% or less of the U.S. population. Many more girls are affected than boys. One study suggests that African American girls have some early breast development or some early pubic hair more often than white girls or Hispanic girls.
For most children, early puberty starts for no known reason. It can run in families. Sometimes there is a problem in the brain, such as an injury, a tumor or an infection. Early puberty can also be caused by a problem in the sex glands (testes or ovaries), the thyroid gland or the adrenal glands.
Hormonal basis
It is normal for production of these hormones to increase (something we call adrenarche) and for pubic hair to appear after age 8 in girls or 9 in boys. The reason why this increase occurs earlier in some children is not known.
Further, by examining boys and girls together, we found that while pubertal timing effects on health were pervasive among both sexes during adolescence, the effects for girls were more persistent (see Table 2), with a larger impact on young adult health outcomes for women compared to men.
Emily McAuliffe is the little girl who hit puberty at four years old.
That was the experience of Patrick Burleigh, who has a rare genetic mutation that triggers testosterone production far younger than normal.
Children with precocious puberty may grow quickly at first and be tall, compared with their peers. But, because their bones mature more quickly than normal, they often stop growing earlier than usual. This can cause them to be shorter than average as adults.
Fact: There is no scientific evidence that drinking milk causes early puberty. In the United States, girls are entering puberty at younger ages than they were in the first half of the 20th century. Researchers do not know the exact trigger for early-onset puberty, although it is likely influenced by many factors.
The most dangerous age is 14. If you know any teenagers this might not come as a surprise, but research has confirmed that risk-taking peaks during this exact moment in mid-adolescence.
High protein intake elevates IGF-1 levels and promotes growth, which could accelerate the onset of puberty. Poor diet. Children with lower-nutrient diets tend to enter puberty earlier. A diet rich in processed foods and meats, dairy, and fast food is disruptive to normal physical development.
The average age for girls to start puberty is 11, while for boys the average age is 12. But it's perfectly normal for puberty to begin at any point between the ages of 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys.
Actor Max Casella is opening up about his journey with pituitary dwarfism or growth hormone deficiency. The actor told Page Six Wednesday he didn't reach puberty until he was 27 due to the condition. According to Cleveland Clinic, GHD occurs when the pituitary gland doesn't release enough growth hormone.
Yes, a girl can get pregnant before she gets her first period. Getting pregnant is related to ovulation. Because a girl can ovulate before having her first period, it is possible to become pregnant if she has sex.
Avoid exposure to hormones.
Keep your children away from medications, creams, and lotions that contain reproductive hormones like estrogen and testosterone. This is the best way to avoid early puberty, as it cannot be prevented in most cases.
It Doesn't Hurt . . .
And a growth spurt is just that: Your body is growing, and it's happening really fast! When you enter puberty, it might seem like your sleeves are always getting shorter and your pants always look like you're ready for a flood — that's because you're experiencing a major growth spurt.
Girls physically mature faster than boys on a physical level as well due to the quicker process of puberty. Girls undergo puberty earlier than boys by about 1-2 years, and generally finish the stages of puberty quicker than males due to their differences in biology.
There's no set time for girls to begin shaving. You can start shaving when you feel you have enough hair growth on your legs and/or armpits to shave it off.
Premature pubarche, or the development of pubic hair before the age of 8 in girls or 9 in boys, is most commonly caused by premature adrenarche. Adrenarche is the maturation of the adrenal zona reticularis in both boys and girls, resulting in the development of pubic hair, axillary hair, and adult apocrine body odor.
Pubic hair – Once her pubic hair starts growing, you can expect her period to develop in one to two years.