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Filed under: In The News, Development: Big Kids
Girls, they grow up so fast. Too fast. Credit: Getty Images
Specialists in glands and hormones have noticed an alarming increase in girls as young as 6 or 7 showing signs of puberty, according to a new study conducted through the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers, established in 2003 by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science and the National Cancer Institute.
That means the trek to the bra store and the pressure to cover those little bumps may be mounting earlier than you anticipated. The new study reported in the journal Pediatrics found that very young girls are showing protrusions from their chests earlier than ever before, increasing their risk of breast cancer and other health problems, as well as taunts from boys, says Frank Biro, M.D., director of adolescent medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the study's lead author, in a release.
The study found that the proportion of girls who had breast development at ages 7 and 8, particularly among white girls, is greater than that reported from studies of girls who were born 10 to 30 years earlier, according to the release. At age 7, 10 percent of white girls, 23 percent of black girls and 15 percent of Hispanic girls had evidence of breast development.
The issue is of concern, Biro says in the release, for both medical and psychosocial reasons. Studies suggest that earlier puberty, as measured by the age a girl is at first menstruation, can slightly increase the risk of breast cancer.
"What causes earlier onset of puberty isn't entirely clear at this time, but we are looking closely at several different potential factors, including genes and environmental exposures, as well as how those two may interact with each other," Biro says.
Overweight girls were more likely to have more breast development, the study shows. But Biro says he does not think weight is the whole story. He adds in the release that it is possible environmental chemicals are also playing a role, and that future research will examine girls' hormone levels and their exposure to various chemicals.
What the study means for retailers, who have come under fire for offering over-sexualized clothing to kids, remains to be seen. Last April, a survey by the Guardian.co.uk, found an array of items available in major chains, from a T-shirt for a 3-year-old bearing the slogan "Future WAG" to a top for a toddler with a pink bikini appliquéd on the front.
The Guardian's report prompted British retailer Primark to remove its line of padded bras for little girls, according to TheAge.com.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 5)
10-29-2010 @ 9:19AM
Alicia said...Okay, 7 is a bit creepy, but by 8 or 9, most girls in my third grade class started developing. I was the first to get a bra, at 8, and yeah, boys and girls both teased, but by fourth grade, all the girls had training bras and I was left alone.
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11-01-2010 @ 6:49AM
sheryl said...You are right on. I was in the 6th grade when I started wearing a bra and the girls kept asking what was my bra size. They stopped shortly after when they too had to wear a bra. The boys didn't say much. Guess it was the times. (60's)
11-01-2010 @ 8:43AM
lisa said...THE MAJORITY OF YOUNG DEVELOPING GIRLS ARE OVERWEIGHT! FAT TELLS THE BODY TO INCREASE ESTROGEN LEVELS. HIGH ESTROGEN LEVELS MAKES GIRLS DEVELOPE WOMEN PARTS (boobs, pubic hair, underarm hair). SO PARENTS, FEED YOUR KIDS FOR FUEL. STOP PUMPING THEM FULL OF FAT AND POISON. NO 7, 8, 9 OR EVEN 11 YEAR OLD SHOULD BE GOING THROUGH PUBERTY! THEY HAVE ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH!
11-01-2010 @ 9:17AM
Alicia said...1) Typing in caps lock is rude and obnoxious. Please don't.
2) In my case, it was genetics. My mother developed young, too and I was thin for my age until I was 12 or so. Also, I have to agree with Marley, as much as I hate to agree with any advertising spam bot. Hormones pumped into produce and livestock are seriously hurting our health and we're ignoring it (in favor of fearing genetically modified food, which makes very little sense). Livestock that's been grass fed and not injected may come in smaller portions than injected meat, but it tastes better and it's better for you. Same goes for produce that hasn't been pumped full of chemicals to make it "big and juicy." I had the biggest, most flavorless strawberries this summer at home in the states and then came to Ireland, where they don't use as many hormones in their food and it's easier to find free-range, un-injected meat. The portions are about half the size, but it tastes so much better and I even feel better than I ever did at home. I'm more active, I'm happier, I haven't gotten sick yet (usually I've been downed by at least two bad colds by Halloween) and I lost 15 pounds in less than two months, because I'm not eating over-processed food and huge portions or retaining as much water.
11-01-2010 @ 9:22AM
Lori said...Lisa - I have to ask. If you think 11 is too young for puberty (the age when most girls go through puberty and have for decades), then what age did YOU go through puberty? I agree that 7, 8, or 9 is very young, but 11 is the average age. I myself was 12 (by just a couple of months) but my older daughter was 11, as were most of the girls her age. Also, consider something that this article left out, which is genetics. I developed breasts by the time I was 10 (not large ones, but they were there all the same), and my daughter did as well, around the same age. But my younger daughter is 8 and shows no signs of early development, much like the women in her father's family. Genetics plays as much of a role in physical development as hormones and diet.
On a personal note, Lisa. Screaming your comments in caps doesn't make then sound better or make more sense. If you want people to pay attention and take you seriously, stop screaming at them.
11-01-2010 @ 9:25AM
Alicia said...Lori's my favorite person of the day.
11-01-2010 @ 1:07PM
Dmollykins said...I agree whole-heartedly with you Lori, genetics also plays a big part in early development. I will add, there is a condition called; "Precocious Puberty," it's cause has many factors, not just one. I hope parents, but especially parents of these children, are teaching them about boundaries, respect of others and particularly their own. There are some twisted people out there who feel if they're big enough, they're old enough.
11-19-2010 @ 8:02AM
IKNOW said...IT'S BECAUSE OF THE MEDIA. EVERYWHERE YOU GO THERE IS SEX, ON TV, IN ADS, IN MOVIES, IN PAPERS, IN MAGAZINES. GO TO ANY GROCERY STORE IN THE MAGAZINE SECTION, AND YOU'LL FIND WOMEN BARING THEMSELVES. MEN DON'T LOOK IF IT'S NOT SEXY, BUT DO CHILDREN HAVE TO?
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11-01-2010 @ 9:04AM
SKW said...Yes. Because looking at images of women in underwear causes spontaneous puberty. I am abolutely sure you are correct.
11-01-2010 @ 1:37PM
kat said...hahahahahaha. I wish that worked. I would love to get me some media enhanced boobage.
11-01-2010 @ 6:47AM
Rachel said...The fat girls huh? Maybe natures way of giving them a head start on the skinny women all the boys will lust after in a few more years?
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11-01-2010 @ 8:46AM
lisa said...THAT IS THE DUMBEST COMMENT YET! SURE TELL LITTLE GIRLS EVERYWHERE THAT THEY MUST HAVE BOOBS TO BE LUSTED AFTER LIKE THE SKINNY GIRLS. I HOPE YOU DON'T HAVE CHILDREN MORON.
11-01-2010 @ 1:26PM
Coop said...No, Lisa. I think YOURS was the dumbest comment of the day. First of all, find the Caps Lock key and the Shift key and learn to use them. Second, I'm pretty sure Rachel was being just a bit sarcastic about a very real situation. Right or wrong, guys like skinny girls, not fat ones. You don't have to play along, but the fact that you don't like reality doesn't change it.
11-01-2010 @ 7:03AM
Honest Abe said...I've thought for years that this has been becoming more of an issue and that the hormones fed to chicken and cattle was the source of the problem.
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11-01-2010 @ 12:00PM
AttyDallas said...I heard VS was adding children's sizes .. Just ask for "Little Victoria's Secret Corner" when in the store!
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11-01-2010 @ 8:25AM
cathleen said...I would not let my daughter evan look at a vs catalog the girls in there are showing them all they are good for is there body and there is more to life then the perfect body acording to vs standard.
11-01-2010 @ 7:05AM
siientsieep said...This is really disturbing. We need to stop pumping hormones into all our food, it's not good for us.
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11-01-2010 @ 8:50AM
donna said...NO IT ISN'T GOOD FOR US BUT PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY WANT MORE FOR THEIR MONEY SO HORMONES MAKE BIGGER CHICKENS. BIGGER COWS MAKE MORE BEEF WHICH MAKES MORE MONEY FOR THE PEOPLE PROCESSING THE COWS. OUR GREED WILL BE OUR END. ITS NOT JUST THE HORMONES IN MEAT HOWEVER. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT FACTORS CAUSING THIS. BUT IT STARTS WITH US, THE HUMANS AND WHAT WE SCREW UP.
11-01-2010 @ 1:17PM
jenP said...It's not caused by hormones in the food it's caused by more and more little girls being overweight/obese. Fat cells release more estrogen in the body making them go through puberty earlier. This epidemic has the opposite effect on boys. It lowers their testosterone and gives them man boobs. I've never seen a girl going through early puberty that was skinny, EVER. I was super thin and didn't get my period until I was 14 1/2.
11-01-2010 @ 7:09AM
Wendy said...I am convinced it has to do with all the steroids and things that are put into the animals and the foods they eat, to get the animals "beefed" up faster! Our oldest daughter developed at a very early age by age 7 we were buying her bra's. When our second daughter arrived, she had bad allergy's, we had to make sure she had no processed foods, well that just about takes care of everything you would buy from the grocery store. My husband and I started raising all of our own veggies, meats and fruits....we were almost completely self sufficient, and only bought the staple foods. She developed at a much much slower rate, she was almost 13 before we had to buy our first bra for her. I say thats enough to convince me.
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