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Women's Health Blog

By Tracee Cornforth, About.com Guide to Women's Health since 1997

Early Weight Gain Leads to Early Puberty

Tuesday March 6, 2007
Have you noticed that girls are reaching puberty at younger ages? A small study found that the majority of girls who experience early puberty are overweight. Early puberty was defined as the presence of breast development by age 9. Prior to this study, scientists were unclear whether early puberty led to weight gain or weight gain led to early puberty.

The study provides more evidence that early puberty may be caused by weight gain, according to an article in the Atlanta Jounal Constitution. Scientists now must determine whether efforts to control weight in young girls will slow the onset of puberty, and learn how weight gain causes earlier puberty.

More: What to Expect During Puberty
Questions and Answers About Menstruation

Comments

March 8, 2007 at 1:38 am
(1) Filomena says:

I believe this is true for my daughter was a slightly chubby child. She developed breasts at the age of nine and then recieved her period at the age of ten. This was a difficult time for her because she was a child in a woman’s body. She is now fifteen and doing fine.

Filomena

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