posted
Aug 25, 2010 by News Hunter
Although much is still unknown how high body mass index suddenly starts puberty, fat cells produce leptin, a hormone involved in the onset of pubertal maturation, Biro said. Girls who develop breasts early tend to have a body mass index (BMI) than those who did not. What drives the maturation before? Weight gain at an early age seems to be the culprit, "said Biro.
His team found that girls whose mothers had menarche before age 12, who smoked during pregnancy or who were firstborn children were more likely to experience puberty earlier than other girls. A second study published in The Lancet, led by Mildred Maisonet Emory University, Atlanta, reviewed the history of 4000 British children aged 8-14.
birth weight or birth length has no influence on the timing of puberty, but a rapid increase in BMI in childhood was associated with earlier onset of puberty. The daughters of overweight mothers were more likely to be obese themselves, and were more likely to show breast development at an early age, the study said.
