Puberty... at the age of three
- July 29, 2009
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Keywords:
- early puberty
- obesity
- sex education
- teenage pregnancies
Early onset puberty is an increasing problem in the UK and scientific research points to obesity as a key factor
My daughter has had adult body odour since she was three years old. She’s six now and has body hair under her armpits and in the pubic area. Her breasts are developing, she has mood swings and gets monthly stomach pains. Mairi, web forum member
Paediatricians in Britain are noticing that children are going through puberty at an earlier age than ever. The average age for a girl to start her period is 10 years and six months, which means that increasing numbers of girls at primary school have the ability to conceive a child of their own.
Researchers have conducted studies that show that obesity has a direct influence on early onset puberty. Obese girls, who are at least 22 pounds overweight, have an 80 per cent chance of developing breasts before their ninth birthday. Also, experts say that early-onset puberty, or precocious puberty, could have lasting consequences both socially and medically, with a higher risk of teenage pregnancy, depression and cancer in later life.
Tam Fry, honorary chairman of the Child Growth Foundation and a member of the National Obesity Forum, explains why this tragic phenomenon is on the increase in the UK and what can be done to prevent it.
What can be done about early onset puberty?
“We have to stop children getting fat early. What happens is when the child becomes fat the hormone regulation increases because growth hormone is released on a metric volume basis. Therefore, the bigger you are, the more growth hormone is released.
“An obese person is taller than he or she would have been if left to natural growth, so this additional weight is causing children to go into puberty earlier than ever before.”
Is the problem affecting both girls and boys?
“It seems that this is hitting girls faster than boys, although in a sense it may be the same because boys tend to be unwilling to expose themselves, even to their parents. With a girl it’s more obvious because you see the breast budding and it can be picked up more easily, but that’s not to say that it isn’t happening with boys.”
What are the emotional consequences?
“Girls are going into pubertal tantrums at an age when they are least able to cope with them. This is tragic for the parents, because they have an eight year old behaving like a thirteen year old.
“Also, the disparity between what the child is feeling and what they understand must be hugely distressing.”
Could precocious puberty lead to an increase in teenage pregnancies?
“One of the real problems is you can have a child at primary school as well developed as a girl half way through her teens. She is far less likely to be able to fend off advances from a male. As a result, an increase in pregnancies among young girls is a real possibility.”
What can be done about the problem?
“We need to go back into schools not just to teach children to look after themselves but to teach children how to look after their children. This goes right back into pregnancy and preconception. Parents are weaning too early and relying too much on processed foods for babies.”
“If we had a better monitoring system in this country, which is something the Child Growth Foundation has been campaigning for, we would maybe catch these girls before the whole thing becomes a disaster.”
What should parents do if they think their child is experiencing early onset puberty?
“Go straight to your GP and ask for an immediate referral to a paediatric endocrinologist. It is possible to slow down the advancement into puberty with medication.”
Is there enough sex education in schools?
“No. Children aged four and five are being taught about finance in schools now, but they should also be taught about sexual development and reproduction at an earlier age.
“There are a lot of people who believe that sex education will exacerbate the problem, but education is everything. Once you have education then the majority of people, if it’s taught in the correct way, will treat it with respect and be in a much better position to know what is going on.
“I have real hopes that the autumn launch of the Start4Life tranche of the government’s Change4Life programme will highlight to parents the importance of breast-feeding for longer and a good, healthy diet for babies.
“From early indications, the Change4Life programme also appears to be looking in the right areas, such as the importance of eating five portions of fresh fruit and veg per day, portion control, 60-minutes of exercise a day for children and replacing sugary or fatty foods with more healthy options.”
Getting help
Child Growth Foundation, tel: 020 8995 0257; www.childgrowthfoundation.org; info@childgrowthfoundation.org
Advisory Centre for Education, tel: 020 7354 8318; advice line: 0808 800 5793; www.ace-ed.org.uk; ace-ed@easynet.org.uk
This advice service offers direct help to parents dealing with problems with schools and LEAs
The British Thyroid Foundation, tel: 0870 770 7933
