3/5/07
Obesity in children linked to earlier puberty
Polly Curtis and Carol Nader
GIRLS who are obese at the age of four are more likely to reach puberty before their 10th birthday.
The findings stem from a study which predicts that puberty will come earlier as the child obesity crisis worsens. The research, the first to track children from when they were toddlers to the age of 12, establishes a firm link between childhood obesity and early onset puberty.
The findings will add to pressure on governments to tackle the rising incidence of child obesity. The American researchers warn that the obesity crisis is now affecting children's development, while British experts say the trend will follow in Britain as childhood obesity reaches US levels.
Joyce Lee, assistant professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Michigan, and lead researcher on the study, said: "This is a crucial study because it is the first longitudinal study to follow girls from 36 months to the age of 12.
"We witnessed early onset puberty at nine among those who were obese by the age of four. Before, it's not been clear whether girls are obese because they are hitting puberty earlier or hitting puberty early because they are obese.
"Early puberty is associated with increased psychological and social problems, early alcohol consumption and smoking. There can be long-term implications for the children."
The research, published in the American journal Pediatrics, studied 400 girls, recording weight and early signs of puberty. The monitoring included breast development and the start of menstruation. About 30 per cent of the children were overweight or obese at the age of nine.
Scores at all ages of a higher body mass index (BMI), the calculation of weight using height measurements, were found to have a strong association with an earlier onset of puberty in girls. For every extra point on the girls' BMI scores at 36 months, the odds of having earlier puberty increased by 44 per cent.
In Australia, Boyd Swinburn, professor of population health at Deakin University, said the results confirmed what pediatricians knew about obesity's effect on stimulating the early onset of growth spurts and puberty.
"It sounds like the new piece of evidence is they're able to predict it from the age of four, and particularly for girls. The fat tissue is a source of female hormones. So a lot of fat tissue will increase the amount of oestrogen available and that is certainly a likely explanation for girls."
Professor Swinburn said obese children may also go through "a rather precocious" growth spurt, contributing to the early onset of puberty. They were more likely to be taller in those earlier years, but that did not influence their final height.
He said early puberty came with other issues. The early onset of periods could be traumatic for young girls. And for boys, being very big and having a burst of testosterone with puberty might trigger aggression.
¶ 10:17 PM
Polly Curtis and Carol Nader
GIRLS who are obese at the age of four are more likely to reach puberty before their 10th birthday.
The findings stem from a study which predicts that puberty will come earlier as the child obesity crisis worsens. The research, the first to track children from when they were toddlers to the age of 12, establishes a firm link between childhood obesity and early onset puberty.
The findings will add to pressure on governments to tackle the rising incidence of child obesity. The American researchers warn that the obesity crisis is now affecting children's development, while British experts say the trend will follow in Britain as childhood obesity reaches US levels.
Joyce Lee, assistant professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Michigan, and lead researcher on the study, said: "This is a crucial study because it is the first longitudinal study to follow girls from 36 months to the age of 12.
"We witnessed early onset puberty at nine among those who were obese by the age of four. Before, it's not been clear whether girls are obese because they are hitting puberty earlier or hitting puberty early because they are obese.
"Early puberty is associated with increased psychological and social problems, early alcohol consumption and smoking. There can be long-term implications for the children."
The research, published in the American journal Pediatrics, studied 400 girls, recording weight and early signs of puberty. The monitoring included breast development and the start of menstruation. About 30 per cent of the children were overweight or obese at the age of nine.
Scores at all ages of a higher body mass index (BMI), the calculation of weight using height measurements, were found to have a strong association with an earlier onset of puberty in girls. For every extra point on the girls' BMI scores at 36 months, the odds of having earlier puberty increased by 44 per cent.
In Australia, Boyd Swinburn, professor of population health at Deakin University, said the results confirmed what pediatricians knew about obesity's effect on stimulating the early onset of growth spurts and puberty.
"It sounds like the new piece of evidence is they're able to predict it from the age of four, and particularly for girls. The fat tissue is a source of female hormones. So a lot of fat tissue will increase the amount of oestrogen available and that is certainly a likely explanation for girls."
Professor Swinburn said obese children may also go through "a rather precocious" growth spurt, contributing to the early onset of puberty. They were more likely to be taller in those earlier years, but that did not influence their final height.
He said early puberty came with other issues. The early onset of periods could be traumatic for young girls. And for boys, being very big and having a burst of testosterone with puberty might trigger aggression.
Labels: Obesity in children
¶ 10:17 PM
