Why is puberty starting at younger ages?

But excess weight alone cannot explain this drastic shift, Busch continued. Other factors such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the environment also might influence the age of puberty, Busch said. Studies have shown that chemicals like DDT and DDE have been associated with earlier puberty.

Do you believe the impact of puberty has changed over time?

“The age of puberty, especially female puberty, has been decreasing in western cultures for decades now,” Chapa said. “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.”

Is puberty happening younger?

But increasingly, puberty starts in middle childhood. On average, puberty today begins around age 10 or 11 in girls (11–12 in boys) and ends between 15 and 17, although some bodies speed through it in a year while others take a more gradual course. The onset of puberty in boys is less dramatic.

When does a girl get armpit hair?

For Girls. The earliest age to start puberty for girls is eight years old. That means axillary (underarm) hair, pubic hair, breast development, body odor, and mild acne is normal in eight-year-olds is normal. Girls typically begin their period two years after breast buds appear, the youngest age being ten.

When do girls start growing breasts?

Different Variations of Normal The earliest physical change of puberty for girls is usually breast development, which most often begins around 10 or 11 years. But it’s perfectly normal for breast development to start anytime between the ages of 7 and 13.

Why is menarche earlier?

Sometimes, genetic mutations that trigger the release of sex hormones can lead to precocious puberty. Most often, these children have a parent or sibling with similar genetic problems. Race. Researchers don’t know why, but on average, African American girls seem to start puberty about a year earlier than white girls.

Why do females go through puberty earlier than males?

Fat is a very active hormonal gland, and fat cells convert other hormones into estrogen. The more fat tissue a girl has, the higher her chance of starting puberty earlier. There is a large body of research that shows a link between toxic stress and the earlier onset of puberty.

When do girls get pubic hair?

Puberty generally starts earlier for girls, some time between 8 and 13 years of age. For most girls, the first evidence of puberty is breast development, but it can be the growth of pubic hair.

Is puberty coming earlier than ever before?

Girls Are Going Through Puberty Earlier Than Ever Before, With Long-Term Health Risks. For many girls in the developed world, puberty is coming earlier than ever before, with studies showing that, on average, puberty is now starting for girls at around 10 years old – at least five years earlier than a century ago.

Why has puberty moved forward in girls?

Researchers think this change could be a result of our obesity epidemic – excess body weight has been shown to affect the timing of a girl’s first period. But studies suggest that this weight gain doesn’t entirely explain the extent to which puberty has moved forwards in girls.

What are the causes of precocious puberty?

The causes of most precocious puberty cases remain unknown. While many of the cases are attributed to excess weight gain or (paradoxically) improved nutrition, exposures to phthalates and other endochrine-disrupting chemicals have also been implicated as possible risk factors.

How does puberty change a child’s life?

Puberty brings changes across virtually every domain of a kid’s life, she adds. “After infancy, this is the vastest, as well as the quickest, transformation we ever experience. But unlike infancy, we are cognizant of the changes of puberty as they occur.