- Girls visited the hospital 2,032 times during early adolescence.
- This was up from 35% the previous year.Obesity may be a factor
A record number of young girls are hitting puberty prematurely, some as young as four years old, and experts blame obesity as a key factor.
New data shows that the number of hospital visits for girls suffering from ‘precocious puberty’ increased from 1,510 to 2,032 last year.
NHS Digital hospital data shows 79 of these children have not even reached their fifth birthday.
Experts say the 35% increase could be due to obesity, as there is a “clear link” between obesity and the premature onset of puberty.
The study comes from an Italian medical study that pointed to the coronavirus lockdown as a potential trigger, as children started gaining weight because they were not going out as often and spending more time on computers. This follows.
Dr Tabatha Randell, chair of the British Endocrinology and Diabetes Society, told Express:
“Maturity at an early age can be very difficult for children who are often unprepared for the physical changes that come with adolescence.”
The average age at which girls begin puberty is 11 years, but it usually begins at any point between the ages of 8 and 13.
Early puberty is defined as when a girl shows signs of puberty, such as breast development or the onset of puberty, before the age of eight.
Precocious puberty can be caused by genetic factors, brain problems such as tumors, and problems with the ovaries or thyroid.
It can be treated by targeting the underlying cause or delaying onset by starting medications to control hormone levels.
The number of boys who hit puberty early was much smaller – only 1 in 9 cases.
A 2021 survey conducted by NHS Digital and the National Child Measurement Program revealed the biggest rise in obesity rates among school children since records began.
The study found that obesity rates among four- and five-year-olds in reception classes rose from 9.9% in 2019-20 to 14.4% in 2020-21.
Among all children, 27.7% of sixth graders were overweight or obese, compared to 40.9% of sixth graders.
Obesity rates were higher among boys than girls in both age groups.
Among children of receptive age, 14.8% of boys were obese compared to 14.1% of girls.
Among sixth grade students, 29.2 percent of boys were obese compared to 21.7 percent of girls.
Dr Mohammad Magni, who led the Italian study at the University of Genoa and Italy’s Giannina Gaslini Institute, said: “Stress, social isolation, increased conflict between parents, economic status and use of hand and surface disinfectants This increase is having an impact.” More interesting hypotheses may emerge as to why early puberty is on the rise in young people.
“There’s an interesting evolutionary hypothesis that when girls are under a lot of stress, they get their periods earlier in order to reproduce and protect the future of the species.”
Obesity rates are high, and children generally enter puberty earlier than before because too much fat can disrupt the hormones that determine when a child becomes a teenager.
The first sign of puberty in girls is usually the development of breasts, followed by menarche and the growth of hair in places where it wasn’t there before, such as the armpits and genitals. Acne and body odor may also occur.
