Milk and Precocious Puberty

939 Words2 Pages

It may seem that children are developing sooner than usual, and that is because they are. Children today are entering puberty earlier than ever. It is unclear why this is happening, although there are many hypotheses. One theory is that foods and other components, such as hormones, are causing precocious puberty. Precocious puberty is a medical term describing puberty occurring at an early age. Another possible answer may be the dramatic increase in childhood obesity. The consumption of milk has traditionally been blamed for premature growth in adolescents. However, there are no facts that directly link milk to precocious puberty. Previous studies lacked the consistency needed for accurate results, however newer studies are getting closer to answering this question but are variable dependent.
Puberty is defined as the beginning of sexual maturity. It is the period when a child changes physically, hormonally, sexually, and is able to reproduce. For girls, puberty begins around ages ten or eleven and ends around age sixteen. Boys enter puberty later than girls, usually around age twelve, and it lasts until around ages sixteen or seventeen (Parents & Teachers: Teen Growth & Development, Years 11 to 14). Precocious puberty means having development of breasts or testes, menstrual bleeding, pubic and underarm hair, body odor, and an increased growth rate earlier than normal. For girls, puberty is generally considered to be too early if it begins at age seven or eight. African-American and Hispanic girls tend to start puberty slightly earlier than Caucasian girls. For boys, puberty is generally considered too early before the age of nine years (Adkins, Deanna, and Dennis Clements).
Most cases of precocious puberty have no known cause. S...

... middle of paper ...

...contamination affect puberty.

Work Cited
Adkins, Deanna, and Dennis Clements. "When Is Puberty Too Early?" Duke Health. N.p., 13 Apr. 2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.
Baker R. "Body Weight and the Initiation of Puberty." PubMed. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 28 Sept. 1985. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
Kwok, Sun K., Gabriel M. Leung, Tai H. Lam, and Catherine M. Schooling. "Breastfeeding, Childhood Milk Consumption, and Onset of Puberty." PubMed. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 20 Aug. 2012. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
"Myth: Drinking Milk Causes Early Puberty." Healthy Eating. Dairy Council of California, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
"Parents & Teachers: Teen Growth & Development, Years 11 to 14." Parents & Teachers: Teen Growth & Development. Palo Alto Medical Foundation, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
Ridley, Kim. "'Precocious Puberty' Is on the Rise." Alternet. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Teens To The Personality Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr.

    258 Words  | 1 Pages

    The teenage year is the time when the body starts producing sex hormones and goes through a major growth spurt. This is the period when

    Read More

  • What it's Like to be a Black Girl by Patricia Smith

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    Puberty is usually defined by the biological changes a young boy or girls body undertakes around the age of 9 up until about 14. “It’s being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished,” writes Smith, “like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong.” (Smith, 4) These thoughts have run around the minds of almost every puberty stricken youngster. However, Smiths subject seems to also have the added pressures of a racially jagged society. This “black girl” she refers to in her poem is feeling the awkwardness of...

    Read More

  • Food Insecurity in the USA

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whitney, E., DeBruyne, L. K., Pinna, K., & Rolfes, S. R. (2007). Nutrition through the Life Span: Childhood and Adolescence. Nutrition for Health and Health Care (3rd ed. , pp. 1). 301-329.

    Read More

  • Piaget's Cognitive Stages Of Child Development

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    While every child’s development varies during middle childhood, most children will typically grow “two (2) to three (3) inches each year between the ages of six (6) and eleven (11) and approximately double their weight during that period (Papalia 284).” Due to the loss of baby fat, at this stage of development, children resemble mini adults. This is evident in

    Read More

  • Does Milk Really Do Your Body Good?

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a child you were most likely bombarded with people reminding you to drink your milk; your parents harping that milk makes you bigger and stronger or the American Dairy Farmers ever present slogan of the 1980’s, “Milk it does a body good” or the most recent “Got milk?” (Rosenburg). Contrary to the preaching about the benefits of milk and what you may have seen or heard on billboards and television commercials, the reality is that milk does your body more harm than good with the use of hormones and the adverse effects that milk has on your body.

    Read More

  • The Obesity Epidemic

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tiffany Rush-Wilson says in her article The Crisis of Childhood Obesity that due to this health crisis, we know have a generation of children that are expected to live shorter lives than their parents. Obesity is defined as a condition in which a person’s weight is more than 20% greater than is recommended for his or her height and age. Durin...

    Read More

  • Adolescent Eating Disorders

    1663 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... changes of puberty, which may be interpreted as ?getting fat.? Encourage an active lifestyle. This needn?t involve organized athletics necessarily, but rather any movement ? walking, dancing, biking ? that is pleasurable enough to do everyday.

    Read More

  • Nutrition and Cognition

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mozes, Alan. "Drinking Milk as Teens May Not Protect Men's Bones."WebMD. HealthDay, 19 11 2013. Web. 01 Dec 2013.

    Read More

  • The Development Of The Teenage Brain

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Frontline six video series “Inside the Teenage Brain” covers how the teenage brain goes through extensive changes during puberty and how two critical waves of development are different between the initial growth spurts and pruning phases during the what is called “In utero” that is most

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Comprehensive Sex Education

    1065 Words  | 3 Pages

    Middle school children are at the age where they first begin puberty. If the effects of puberty are not taught at home or at school, this could be an embarrassing time in any

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Breastfeeding

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    Breastfeeding provides a wide array of health benefits for both baby and mother, while simultaneously enhancing the bond between mom and her baby. Mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk of ovarian and pre-menopausal breast cancer. Their babies see a boost in cognitive development, as well as lowering their chances of being obese as adults, unlike formula fed babies. Consequently, a lower risk of obesity correlates to a lower incident of a wide array of comorbidities such as

    Read More

  • Parents Are Mainly to Blame for Childhood Obesity

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kiess, W., Claude Marcus, and Martin Wabitsch. Obesity In Childhood And Adolescence. Basel: Karget, 2004. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Early Maturation In Matolescence

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    Maturation can be referred to as a process through which development is attained throughout a lifespan. Each child maturation experiences are different at the onset of puberty, even children from same family. The average age for maturation is 11yrs for girls and 12yrs for boys. For some children, their maturation can be said to be early while some could be later. Early maturation is when a child begins to exhibits puberty signs before the age of 8yrs old for girls and before the age of 9yrs for boys. Late maturation is when signs of puberty are not exhibited at the age of 13yrs or after in girls and 14yrs or after in boys. They are physiological changes in an individual’s height, weight, body composition, sex characteristics, and circulatory

    Read More

  • Causes and Effects of Teenage Rebellion

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Woody, P. (n.d.). Parenting. Teen Rebellion. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/parenting_challenges/teen_rebellion.aspx. New Releases.

    Read More

  • Changes In Puberty

    1584 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hormones significantly affect the physical and psychological aspects of puberty. During this time, a “surge of hormones” occurs, which affects the teen’s body, brain, and behavior. In girls,

    Read More

More about Milk and Precocious Puberty

Open Document