- NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
- Girls who have more body fat at age 5 tend to be closer to puberty at
age 9 than other 9-year-olds who had less body fat, researchers report.
And girls showing large increases in body fat between the ages of 5 and
9 also tend to show more signs of puberty at age 9 compared with other
youngsters.
-
- The new findings suggest that weight control efforts
may need to start as early as preschool, according to Dr. Kirsten Krahnstoever
Davison and colleagues of Pennsylvania State University, in University
Park.
-
- Some experts believe that the rising rate of obesity
among U.S. children has spurred early maturation. On average, girls are
starting to show the first signs of breast development at ages 8 and 9,
a year earlier than 20 years ago, according to the report in the journal
Pediatrics.
-
- Both obesity and earlier puberty can have health consequences.
-
- Obesity puts young people at risk for diabetes and raises
their odds of heart disease and other health problems down the road. For
girls, early puberty increases their lifetime exposure to estrogen, which
may elevate the risk for breast cancer and possibly ovarian cancer.
-
- In the new study, Davison's team evaluated 181 girls
at the age of 5, 7 and 9 years. All the girls underwent weight and body
fat measurements, and at age nine had pubertal development assessed. All
the girls were white and from families with a median annual income that
ranged from $35,000 to $50,000.
-
- "Girls with higher percent body fat at 5 years,
and girls with higher percent body fat, higher BMI (body mass index) percentile,
or larger waist circumferences at 7 years, were more likely to be classified
with earlier pubertal development at 9 years," the authors write.
-
- Body mass index is a measurement that takes into account
a person's height and weight and is used to identify people who are overweight.
-
- Girls who gained the highest percentage of body fat between
the ages of 5 and 9, and those who saw the largest increase in their waist
size between the ages of 7 and 9 were also more likely to show signs of
puberty onset at age 9, the study indicates. Overall, 30 percent of the
girls were overweight and 56 percent showed the first signs of breast development
by age 9.
-
- "This study indicates that body fat levels during
middle childhood are causally implicated in earlier timing of puberty among
white girls," the authors conclude.
-
- "The practical implications of these findings emphasize
the need for implementation of early prevention and treatment programs
for childhood overweight, beginning as early as the preschool period,"
the authors conclude.
-
- Further research will need to assess the relationship
between weight, body fat and early onset puberty in girls of other ethnic
groups, according to the report.
-
- SOURCE: Pediatrics 2003;111:815-821.
-
- Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
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- Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 12:41:55 -0700
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- From: jr@rense.com
- Subject: Girls' Body Fat at Age 5 Linked to Earlier Puberty
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- Girls' Body Fat At Age 5 Linked To Earlier Puberty
-
-
- 4-9-3
-
- NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Girls who have more body
fat at age 5 tend to be closer to puberty at age 9 than other 9-year-olds
who had less body fat, researchers report. And girls showing large increases
in body fat between the ages of 5 and 9 also tend to show more signs of
puberty at age 9 compared with other youngsters.
-
- The new findings suggest that weight control efforts
may need to start as early as preschool, according to Dr. Kirsten Krahnstoever
Davison and colleagues of Pennsylvania State University, in University
Park.
-
- Some experts believe that the rising rate of obesity
among U.S. children has spurred early maturation. On average, girls are
starting to show the first signs of breast development at ages 8 and 9,
a year earlier than 20 years ago, according to the report in the journal
Pediatrics.
-
- Both obesity and earlier puberty can have health consequences.
-
- Obesity puts young people at risk for diabetes and raises
their odds of heart disease and other health problems down the road. For
girls, early puberty increases their lifetime exposure to estrogen, which
may elevate the risk for breast cancer and possibly ovarian cancer.
-
- In the new study, Davison's team evaluated 181 girls
at the age of 5, 7 and 9 years. All the girls underwent weight and body
fat measurements, and at age nine had pubertal development assessed. All
the girls were white and from families with a median annual income that
ranged from $35,000 to $50,000.
-
- "Girls with higher percent body fat at 5 years,
and girls with higher percent body fat, higher BMI (body mass index) percentile,
or larger waist circumferences at 7 years, were more likely to be classified
with earlier pubertal development at 9 years," the authors write.
-
- Body mass index is a measurement that takes into account
a person's height and weight and is used to identify people who are overweight.
-
- Girls who gained the highest percentage of body fat between
the ages of 5 and 9, and those who saw the largest increase in their waist
size between the ages of 7 and 9 were also more likely to show signs of
puberty onset at age 9, the study indicates. Overall, 30 percent of the
girls were overweight and 56 percent showed the first signs of breast development
by age 9.
-
- "This study indicates that body fat levels during
middle childhood are causally implicated in earlier timing of puberty among
white girls," the authors conclude.
-
- "The practical implications of these findings emphasize
the need for implementation of early prevention and treatment programs
for childhood overweight, beginning as early as the preschool period,"
the authors conclude.
-
- Further research will need to assess the relationship
between weight, body fat and early onset puberty in girls of other ethnic
groups, according to the report.
-
- SOURCE: Pediatrics 2003;111:815-821.
-
- Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
|
