Week 6 Blog 6

1.             What I found to be very interesting this week was one of the articles we read.  The article, Teens Before Their Time suggested that there are many possible reasons for earlier puberty in girls.  According to the author, Michael Lemonick, some researchers believe the chemicals used to make plastics are at fault.  Bisphenol-A (aka BPA) and phthalates were linked to early puberty in Puerto Rico in the 1980’s.  Girls as young as 2 were growing breasts and pubic hair. 
               The article gives an example of a young girl who was put on hormones to stop the onset of puberty.  One young girl, who first showed signs of breast development at the early age of 4 was put on medication several years later.  According to her parents, once she was on medication to slow the onset of puberty, had horrible mood swings.  Her parents soon stopped the treatment, and by age 9 she had breasts and her period. 
               Another young girl began growing pubic hair at the age of 5.  Blood tests ruled out conditions which could pump out puberty-triggering hormones.  By age 8, this young girl had full growth of her pubic hair.  Her parents stopped letting her change swim suits in front of other children, or go to any slumber parties (out of fear of her embarrassment I suppose). 
               Studies that have been done only seem to focus on Caucasian or African American girls.  Among Caucasian girls, 1 in 7 develop breasts or pubic hair by age 8, and among African American girls, nearly 50% develop breasts or pubic hair by age 8.  The article does suggest that since from the mid 1800’s to the mid 1900’s, the average age girls started their periods fell from age 17 to age 13, and this is likely due to improvements in nutrition. 
               However, early puberty has also been linked with being overweight.  This could be because fat cells produce leptin, a hormone that is necessary for the progression of puberty.  Some chemicals can also mimic hormones that help the development of the reproductive system.  Another suggestion is that all the sexualized messages in our society could be causing early development (one comparison is made to a dog salivating at the mere sight of food).   
              
2.             I got my period at the age of 10, in 1993.  About a year before I started having to wear bras.  I was not a skinny girl, and I did watch anything I wanted on TV, and back then there was no attention given to BPA or phthalates.  Now, on most plastic containers I buy I see “NO BPA” stamped all over them, and on shampoo bottles quite often I see “phthalate-free”.  Perhaps, if these chemicals continue to lack from our plastics and hygiene products, maybe over time we will see a rise in the age puberty starts in girls.
    
3.             I would like to ask the author about the Puerto Rican girls who developed at the age of 2.  The article really didn’t discuss much detail about these cases.  I find myself constantly going back and thinking, trying to imagine how I would feel if my toddler got boobs.  Also, I would ask what age these young girls got their periods.  This is a fascinating topic, and also a scary one, because even though I am not a parent, I would want my little girl to stay a little girl for a reasonable amount of time, and first or second grade is too early.