Tuesday, October 05, 1999
Some girls start puberty at 6 or 7, study finds
Blacks develop about year earlier than whites
BY SUE MacDONALD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
American girls are starting puberty earlier than most experts had thought, says a new study published today in the journal Pediatrics.
University of Virginia pediatricians report some girls begin early signs of puberty — breast development and the growth of pubic hair — as early as 6 or 7.
In general, African-American girls begin developing about a year earlier than white girls.
The doctors' findings verify what other puberty researchers have found and confirm the physical signs doctors and parents are noticing in girls. The Virginia researchers made their conclusions after reviewing previous puberty studies.
“You can help prepare your kid; and you need to do things that are developmentally appropriate, no matter what age they are,” said Dr. Frank Biro, physician with the Division of Adolescent Medicine/Teen Health Center at Children's Hospital Medical Center.
“The most important thing is that you have to be proactive about it. Prevention is so much more effective than treatment. ... If you anticipate the issues and discuss them with your kids, then they become nonissues.”
The study advises that “precocious puberty,” a medical term describing puberty that starts too early, shouldn't be considered a treatable problem unless body changes begin before 7 in white girls and 6 in African-American girls.
Researchers also say early-maturing girls tend not to be shorter as adults, despite fears an early growth spurt would affect adult height.
For parents, teachers and anyone who deals with young children, the study highlights the importance of talking to children early and often about how bodies change, what to expect, sex education and how to make good decisions, Dr. Biro said.
An 8-year-old girl who looks 12 or 13 “still behaves like an 8- or 9-year-old girl, and you need to keep that in perspective,” Dr. Biro said. “I think kids grow up earlier in this society than they have in the past, and the secret to being a good parent is being aware and just being a good parent.”
Girls who mature earlier than their peers may struggle with issues around body image, size, self-esteem and peers who don't look like they do, he said. Developing early can put girls — probably more often than it does boys — in uncomfortable situations, especially if they gravitate toward older children and older social groups.
Girls also may need help understanding that the cultural emphasis on thinness conflicts with the natural growth in the sizes and shapes of their bodies.
A 1997 study by Marcia Herman-Giddens at the University of North Carolina sparked the issue, finding girls began puberty as early as 8 or 9, with about a year's difference between African-American and white girls.
Over the last 50 years, the age at which girls begin menstruating has remained stable at 12 years, but doctors have noticed other bodily changes are occuring earlier.
No one knows why puberty may be starting early, although doctors cite a variety of factors. Among them: increased obesity; improved nutrition and excess protein in modern diets; and the estrogen-like effects of synthetic plastics, insecticides and hair products.
Typically, boys enter puberty about two years later than girls.
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