factors, and believes the medical com-
munity should be doing a better job of
investigating them. “We are accepting
the problem, rather than raising the
alarm,” Sellman says.
Number one on her list is the group
of ubiquitous, hormone-mimicking
chemicals now present in our environ-
ment, which show up in everything from
plastics in toys to pesticides on foods.
“These chemicals are perceived by the
body as hormones and programmed
into children’s systems at a vulnerable
time,” she says. “In some cases, they are
hardwired at birth.”
For years, Sellman and others like
her were largely ignored when they
warned of the impact certain chemicals
could have on timing for the onset of
Parents say it can be baffling for a preschooler to make
puberty, but a flood of new science has
begun to prove them right.
sense of a changing body and hormone-fueled mood swings,
In April, a report by the National
or for a second-grader to have to remember to
Toxicology Program of the National
Institutes of Health called into ques-
put on deodorant or bring a pad to school.
tion the safety of bisphenol A (BPA), a
common ingredient in polycarbonate
They say that parents need not be con- with super-sizing may be to blame.
plastic water bottles, sippy cups and
cerned if a girl of 8 or 9 develops pubic “During the same time that this
baby bottles. The report noted that
hair or breasts. So, today, puberty is trend has been taking place, we have
when laboratory rats were exposed to
deemed ‘precocious,’ or early enough had an epidemic of obesity in this
BPA, they experienced a host of health
to warrant medical attention, only if it country,” says Paul Kaplowitz, Ph.D., a
problems, including unusual timing of
occurs before age 7 in Caucasian girls, medical doctor, chief of endocrinology
puberty.
age 6 in African-American girls, or age at Children’s National Medical Center
The report prompted many com-
9 in boys. in Washington, D.C. and author of Early
panies, including Nalgene, to pull its
But others have taken a more Puberty in Girls: The Essential Guide to
BPA products off the shelves. Parents
thoughtful approach. They are urgently Coping with this Common Problem.
nationwide began to take a closer, more
calling for more research to determine Many studies already have docu-
suspicious look at plastics.
the cause of the trend and what, if mented a link between being over-
Another study, in Puerto Rico,
anything, can be done about it. “To me, weight and early onset of menstruation.
which has seen alarmingly high rates of
it is a critical and crucial public health Kaplowitz has found that being just
breast development in young girls, found
issue,” says Marcia Herman-Giddens, 10 percent overweight increases the
that girls who developed earlier were
adjunct professor of public health at the chances of early breast and pubic hair
three times more likely to have high
University of North Carolina, Chapel development. He believes the fat cells’
blood levels of phthalate esters. These
Hill. She was lead author of two of the production of the hormone leptin,
chemicals are commonly found in plas-
key studies cited. which regulates appetite, but which is
tic toys, food packaging and cosmetics.
“An 8-year-old girl with breasts also a critical player in the biochemical
Another study of Michigan chil-
still wants to be playing with dolls,” cascade that prompts puberty, could
dren, who had accidentally been
observes Herman-Giddens. “In a sense, play a role.
exposed in utero to polybrominated
these kids lose their childhood.” Another recent study, presented at
biphenyls (common fire retardants), re-
The Endocrine Society’s annual meet-
ported that the girls ended up menstru-
Search for a cause
ing, suggested that women who eat a
ating one year earlier than the control
While some cases of early-onset
very high-fat diet during pregnancy may
group. Yet another study pointed to
puberty—particularly in boys—can be
also influence the timing of their child’s
estrogen-mimicking compounds found
attributed to anatomical problems, like
puberty—prompting it to come early.
in the hair products of African-Ameri-
a tumor on the pituitary gland, the vast
Sherrill Sellman, a naturopathic
can women as a factor in hastening the
majority of cases remain unexplained.
doctor and author of What Women
puberty of their children.
But a growing body of research suggests
Must Know to Protect Their Daughters
In addition to chemicals and obe-
that our sedentary lifestyle and obsession
from Breast Cancer, blames a variety of
sity, experts have implicated hormones
Collier / Lee Counties
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