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Puberty can begin at
8 in girls
Children grow up too fast, many parents
say. And preliminary results of a 'Children of the Nineties' study suggest that they may
be growing up even faster than we know. The researchers found that one in six girls in
Britain are showing signs of puberty as early as age 8.
'I feel that the proportion of young
girls who have started early signs of puberty by the age of 8 is important--as this
reveals a need for parents and teachers to be aware of the special information that should
be available to these children,' study director Professor Jean Golding of the University
of Bristol, UK, quoted.
Golding's findings are based on a
sample of 630 girls who were born in 1991 and 1992--a small segment of the 14,000 youth
involved in the Children of the Nineties study. Also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study
of Parents and Children, the ongoing research project carried out at Bristol University's
Institute of Child Health is 'aimed at identifying those factors in the environment that
may or may not interact with the genetic predisposition of a child to influence (his or
her) health and development,' Golding explained.
One in six of the 630 girls showed
early signs of puberty, in contrast to only 1 in 100 eight-year-old girls a generation
ago, according to a BBC report. This may seem to suggest that girls are maturing much
faster in recent years but Goldman stresses that this may not be the case.
Also, 1 in 14 eight-year-old boys had
pubic hair, in contrast to 1 in 150 boys of the previous generation.
'I think that at the moment, although
we assume that this is faster than previously, we don't have clear evidence of this,' she
stated. 'If, however, the girls are really maturing faster, there are a number of possible
explanations, that all are only suggestions at the moment,' she speculated. 'One is that
nourishment is better and that children are putting on more weight which may in its turn
encourage the body to assume maturation is taking place.'
According to the BBC, the report is the
first study of puberty in Britain since 1969. |
