Milk and Precocious Puberty

939 Words2 Pages

It may seem that children are developing sooner than usual, and that is because they are. Children today are entering puberty earlier than ever. It is unclear why this is happening, although there are many hypotheses. One theory is that foods and other components, such as hormones, are causing precocious puberty. Precocious puberty is a medical term describing puberty occurring at an early age. Another possible answer may be the dramatic increase in childhood obesity. The consumption of milk has traditionally been blamed for premature growth in adolescents. However, there are no facts that directly link milk to precocious puberty. Previous studies lacked the consistency needed for accurate results, however newer studies are getting closer to answering this question but are variable dependent. Puberty is defined as the beginning of sexual maturity. It is the period when a child changes physically, hormonally, sexually, and is able to reproduce. For girls, puberty begins around ages ten or eleven and ends around age sixteen. Boys enter puberty later than girls, usually around age twelve, and it lasts until around ages sixteen or seventeen (Parents & Teachers: Teen Growth & Development, Years 11 to 14). Precocious puberty means having development of breasts or testes, menstrual bleeding, pubic and underarm hair, body odor, and an increased growth rate earlier than normal. For girls, puberty is generally considered to be too early if it begins at age seven or eight. African-American and Hispanic girls tend to start puberty slightly earlier than Caucasian girls. For boys, puberty is generally considered too early before the age of nine years (Adkins, Deanna, and Dennis Clements). Most cases of precocious puberty have no known cause. S... ... middle of paper ... ...contamination affect puberty. Work Cited Adkins, Deanna, and Dennis Clements. "When Is Puberty Too Early?" Duke Health. N.p., 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. Baker R. "Body Weight and the Initiation of Puberty." PubMed. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 28 Sept. 1985. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. Kwok, Sun K., Gabriel M. Leung, Tai H. Lam, and Catherine M. Schooling. "Breastfeeding, Childhood Milk Consumption, and Onset of Puberty." PubMed. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. "Myth: Drinking Milk Causes Early Puberty." Healthy Eating. Dairy Council of California, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. "Parents & Teachers: Teen Growth & Development, Years 11 to 14." Parents & Teachers: Teen Growth & Development. Palo Alto Medical Foundation, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. Ridley, Kim. "'Precocious Puberty' Is on the Rise." Alternet. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.

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