The American way will be to rename if from "puberty" to "bob." That way they can spell it when they hit it.

High fructose corn syrup. Enriched wheat.

We should probably start with these two as they are in almost everything at the grocery store. My wife and I stopped giving our kids anything with high fructose syrup in it.

Organic is definitely the way to go. Keep your kids away from McDonald's!!

High fructose corn syrup is also the food of choice for cancer cells.

But the prospect of premature tatas is the real danger.

I agree with you! They should really be looking into the hormones and chemicals that are being put into America's food. THAT is probably what's making these little girls grow up too fast!

Hormones in food, heavy protein diets, that crap they eat at fast food joints. It all adds up.

The problem is that we have the food industry trying to tell us that chemically altered sugar (high fructose corn syrup) is somehow as healthy as pure sugar, even though there really is no proof that the human body handles it as well as sugar; but like lemmings we continue to believe what we are told!

From the chemicals being disbursed in the Gulf of Mexico which are bound to end up in the food chain, to the hormones and chemically altered food stuffs in our supermarkets, is it really any wonder that our daughter's are reaching child bearing age sooner? After all, that is what puberty is! I would love to feed my family foods that are organic, but the prices tend to be 2 to 3 times higher, then the 'hope for the best' foods, so I have to make do.

My daughter started to grow hair on her legs at the age of seven. Fortunately, a little dipilatory took away the hair, and she was hair free until the age of 10 or 11. The problem is that because not all girls are effected the same way by the same foods, the industry is able to tell us it is all just our imagination...but for how long?

I don't know what the answers are, but I do know that we are going to have to take a good hard look at the amount of chemicals we injest in our day to day lives as compared to previous generations, and see if there is a causal link between some of our newer health concerns (higher rates of obesity, diabetes, puberty in elementary school!) and what has to be the massive amounts of chemicals in our diets (including items sold, stored or reheated in plastic). It will take years to know for sure, but I would find it hard to believe that there is not some link.

I started hearing about this years ago. At the time, experts said it was due to the fast food market. The farmers were giving the cattle growth hormones (steroids) which, in turn, meant that when the kids ate the fast food burgers, they were essentially taking steroids. It's a shame. Don't they grow up fast enough as it is?

So they really did not look like that when I was going to school. I knew it, I knew it, I did, you know.

I started hearing about this years ago. At the time, experts said it was due to the fast food market. The farmers were giving the cattle growth hormones (steroids) which, in turn, meant that when the kids ate the fast food burgers, they were essentially taking steroids. It's a shame. Don't they grow up fast enough as it is?

I heard the same thing years ago. You know what's funny? I always hear people say "what are you feeding that child? Must be something in the water!" Um....NO it's the FOOD!!!

At my daughter's 6 month well visit, her doctor told me one of his patients started growing breasts at 18 months! He had to tell her mom to take her off regular dairy and put her on all organic foods. I always thought the organic movement was hogwash, but after seeing how over-developed my neice became in such a short time (she hit puberty at 9 and now at 12, her breasts are the same size as mine!), I'm a convert.

I know the hormones in foods affect everyone differently, but it's becoming the norm to see 12 year old girls looking like they're 17/18 years old. Partly due to the way they dress, but there's also that little problem of tiny mosquito bites swelling up overnight!

bs'karen, the body of your comment is spot on but you're a tad off in your chemistry.

'-ose' is the suffix to be alert to. Sucrose, maltose, fructose, glucose are all sugars. Fructose is the sugar extracted from corn. The U.S. is heavily invested in keeping corn producers propped up. And I don't mean family farmers.

Factory farms are big business who unholy influence in the U.S. Good lobbyists? Massive political contributions? Politicians having hidden investments? Probably all of the above.

The result is we are a nation in trouble. We're forced to put alcohol from corn into our vehicles despite the fact it is ruinous. High fructose corn syrup is ubiquitous in food despite the devastating effects it has on health.

But back to the main topic--what we ingest is becoming increasingly obvious especially among our youngest children who have been the victims of our tainted food supply from birth unless they were breast-fed. I believe we will discover genetic mutations as well.

Our biggest enemies are not outside the gate. They are the corporations so greed driven they will sacrifice the nation for profit.

Hormones are small proteins that have to enter into the blood stream to have any biological effects. To overcome this problem, some of you may know people that require hormone injections, or topical creams. The main reason for this site of entry is that hormones, like all proteins that are ingested, will be denatured (losing most to all of their biological activity) in the stomach and intestines, even along the brush border. Whereas, there may be the potential for some proteins to be absorbed sublingualy, or to be protected by casein, or other proteins in the milk, as some have suggested, the total content of hormone reaching and effectively exerting an effect on the body is limited. There is however information that would suggest, quite strongly, that excess adiposity is correlated with an increase in estrogen, which would account for the increase in young girls, as well as, reconcile why african american girls are at higher incidence of early onset puberty, as there is higher incidence of childhood obesity. Even studies looking at the use of phytoestrogens, such as the soy isoflavones, have not conclusively shown a direct impact on infant development and sexual characteristics.

What about all the hormones found in our water supply due to the high prevalence of the use of birth control pills among women in America? If all the hormones that find their way into our food have an effect on the early onset of puberty in girls (which I definitely believe they do), I'm sure that the hormones finding their way into our water supply also have a great effect. I definitely agree with going green, eating organic food, and avoiding foods with additives like high fructose corn syrup, but in addition I think that our country needs to really think about its use of birth control and its impact on the environment and thus its effects on our health.

They HAVE looked into hormones supplements used in the ag and there is ZERO evidence to support they have anything to do with the early onset of puberty. But your all-natural organic food marketers sure love you people to keep thinking that. Fear and ignorance is what drives people to pay more the the same product.

You realize hormones are species specific right? I wish people would have paid more attention in their science classes then maybe this dribble wouldn't be so prevalent. Your biochecmistry can not metabolize animal hormones. If you eat it, it gets broken down like any other kind of protein. The hormones used in livestock production are naturally occurring hormones for that species but is synthesized and used as a supplement but its biochemically identical to what the animal produces itself anyways. Hormones are everywhere and in everything. It's really getting annoying how people do NOT understand how hormones work. The irrational fears in food based on public ignorance about basic science and agriculture is sickening.

Please read the aritcle again, this phenomenon is about more abundant nutrients and calories available and it doesn't matter if its nutrients from organic or industrial food production.

Think about it, carrying a pregnancy is a huge strain on the female body, if she's in an environment where nutrients are abundant then she has the food energy source to go into child bearing sooner. A malnutritioned female's body will not go in to puberty cause she's not in an environment where she can adequately sustain herself let alone a potential fetus.

"they" put the hormones in the food because it lowers the cost. "they" will stop doing that only when laws are passed that force them to stop. That won't happen because congress is too busy playing games with themselves to do anything of value. But assuming something could get passed it would mean that the cost of food would increase substantially - are you willing to support that cost? I doubt it. Its much more valuable to complain about "them", play the victim, and take no responsibility yourself

I don't know what scares me more about this article - that there is more proof that food hormones are causing changes in people, that young girls are going through puberty earlier, that a 7 or 8 year old could possibly become pregnant, or that the parents of the girl in question is injected with other chemicals to suppress puberty.

Quite frankly, I have seen the trend over the last 20 years of women's breasts getting larger and larger, and I can't say I thought this was exactly a bad thing, being a man and all. However, I have 2 daughters, 18 months apart, and one has gone through puberty and one has not. I cannot imagine the younger one going through that at a younger age than she is now, and she is 11! My older daughter was ready for it, my younger is still not.

As far as the science goes, the sad truth is that in most cases studies of things like growth hormones in food sources usually cover a matter of a few years, or a decade at most. For all we know, these changes could be the result of the foods WE ate growing up, with the effects showing up in our children. If that is the case, imagine what our kid's kids are going to be like... Scary.

This is exactly what happened to my daughter @ age 8. She started budding breasts and having abdominal cramps. I took her to her pediatrician and she assured me that it was ok, and becoming more common due to the environment that kids are exposed to these days. The bad thing is, she was humiliated @ school by her peers because they thought she was stuffing her bra. How do you explain to other kids?

maybe if they stopped putting so many hormones in our food this wouldn't be happening?

gee really, ya think?!? We use entirely too many chemicals in everything in our lives...

Okay, the use of hormones in our meat industry 'might' be to blame. But, my bet is we're evolving as a species, despite what the Bible says.

probably not evolutionary because it's happening too fast. Evolution alone will not result in girls hitting puberty 5 years before normal in one or two generations.

Chemicals and hormones used in our food is the only plausible explanation.

Vaccines and Genetically Modified food are genetically modifying US. This is thier purpose. To disable, sterilize, and cause early puberty (which causes pregnancy problems later in life). This is the agenda. Sooner or later the World will wake up and learn that the elite's agenda to depopulate the Earth is occuring right now. This is why this year's census is soooo important to "them". So they can tell if thier agenda is working.

They HAVE looked into hormones supplements used in the ag and there is ZERO evidence to support they have anything to do with the early onset of puberty. But your all-natural organic food marketers sure love you people to keep thinking that. Fear and ignorance is what drives people to pay more the the same product.

Who exactly is "they"? Because you know what? Scientific data can be skewed to show almost anything you want.

Scientific studies are normally paid for by big business. In this country, a chemical is innocent until proven guilty. In other countries, that same chemical is guilty until proven innocent. Take BPA for instance, Canada has outright banned it from all infant bottles and is on their "dangerous substance" list. And what about the US? to be continued...

Whether it's the chemicals we clean our houses with, the chemicals we use to wash our clothes and clean our faces, apply makeup OR the chemicals that make one chicken breast weigh a whole pound (I'd love to see the size of the chicken BEFORE it was hacked to pieces) there needs to be better regulation. And we won't get there until the American public starts demanding it.

So where is the FDA in all of this?

Aren't they supposed to be regulating this stuff for the safety of Americans?

Or are they bought and paid for too?

So where is the FDA in all of this?

Aren't they supposed to be regulating this stuff for the safety of Americans?

Or are they bought and paid for too?

do you really have to ask?

How is it you believe that genetically modified foods are altering the genetic code? Do you actually know how genetics work, or the methods utilized to introduce gene changes either experimentally, or in nature? My guess is that you could not possibly understand that because your statement makes no sense. There is no way to put a gene, or set of genes into a food product that will express another gene to insert itself into the genome of a host. It takes very competent scientists months to generate viable knockout animals that are specific to a gene. This is done in an in vitro method and does not translate into in vivo gene manipulation. We don't live in the world of science fiction. The greatest risk from GMO is that, as they are designed, they will uptake too many nutrients and have a potential for toxicity, or they lose palatability or other phenotypic changes that would make consumption unlikely. Vaccines save lives. There is no data to suggest anything otherwise that is viewed as credible by any scientist.

“Back in the 1700s, girls didn’t start to menstruate till they were 17 or 18, Garibaldi says”

I’m not entirely certain I would agree with this statement since in the 1700’s girls marrying at the ages of 14-15 weren’t uncommon at all.

Additionally, with respect to diet, in parts of Africa where malnutrition is prevalent, there seems to be no shortage of very young girls giving birth.

My own personal opinion with regard to the lowering of the age of puberty also points to diet but not so much with the amount of food available but the quality of food with respect to chemicals present such as hormones/pesticides, etc. that weren’t generally present in foods of yesteryear.

There is also the possibility that non-food related chemicals/radiation/environmental factors generally prevalent in modern society may be responsible. The cause will be debated for some time to come.

DowningGrover - unfortunately, it's a question that never should have to be asked.

It's a sad state of affairs when food safety is compromised by big corporations who really only care about making a buck and the regulators who don't regulate.

It has nothing to do with all those chemicals in our diet, enviornment, etc. I am about to turn 55 yrs of age. I began my periods when I was 8 1/2 and by the time I was 9, I was a 34B cup. My mother began her period when she was 9, not much off the mark where I began. It has to do with heredity and nutrition. One of my brothers began shaving when he was 12 because he had to, the other, not until he was 16. To compare the 1700s population, which was strictly British colonists, beginning puberty at 17 is an offense to all current day americans. Firtly, because the British (male and female) body matures slower than most other european and mideastern groups.

The United States is no longer merely of British descent. We have a mix from all over the world today, unlike in the 1700s. Studies from the 70s and 80s showed that malnutrition can delay the onset of puberty in children, but only by 1 to 3 years. It also showed that if someone lost weight too quickly in attempts to slim down, that menses will stop in women. Other studies showed that with less than 30% bodyfat, fertitlity is affected in the majority of majority. I sometimes wonder if that is why so many people today need help through fertility clinics to have a baby.

I am 5'2", not abnormal for a woman at all. What lifelong side effects are going to happen to these young girls if we artificially stop what the body is genetically predisposed to do. I did marry a man of English/Irish descent. My daughters didnt get their periods until they were between 10 and 11 and my son didnt need to shave until he was 17. My daughter who got hers the earliest is currently 5'10 1/2" and 28 yrs old. My other 2 daughters are 5'5" and 5'4". That has more to do with their genetic makeup than when they began puberty. Although I am 5'2", their father is 6'2" tall and they reached their predicted heights within 1 in of those calculations that I did when they were 1 year old. I found the formula in Parents Magazine sometime after my son was born, about 1979 or 1980.

I always had curiosity about when I began so much earlier than most of my friends did. That is why I took such interest in all the articles I have read on the subject. The one that scared me the most was reading that the earlier a woman begins, the later she ends with menopause. I had 2 decades of fearing that I would reach 60 and end up with yet another child. I have 4 children. Luckily, it was unfounded. I also stopped "prematurely" at ~ 44 yrs of age, never went through what people call "menopause" and when my doctor said that I was too young, I looked her straight in the eyes and said "Dont you do ANYTHING to bring it back". She knew then that it was not an issue to approach ever again.

Let the kids develop how nature has intended. There are many of mediteranean descent here (I am of Italian blood) and it is NORMAL. America is no longer predominantely of Anglo-Saxon blood lines and it is time that "researchers" realize that.

P.S.: The researchers also seem to forget, most of our grandparents and great grandparents were married and replicating by the time they were in their mid teens (many with a dozen kids hoping at least 4 would make adulthood) . That couldnt have happened if puberty didnt come until late teens!!!!

I’m not entirely certain I would agree with this statement since in the 1700’s girls marrying at the ages of 14-15 weren’t uncommon at all.

I'm not sure I agree with your statement. After doing extensive family research & also being a huge history buff, I see no evidence of girls marrying at 14-15 years of age to be common. On the contrary the normal age back then seemed to be 18 - 20 years old. Also, my ancestors lived longest in the 1700s unless there was some accident that killed them. I have ancestors that lived well over 100 back then.

I believe it has to do with growth hormones being added into our meats & milk, etc. And I also wonder if we're seeing the affects in our children & grandchildren of women being on the birth control pill since the 60's.

@Recylcled Help: I love your answer!

The sad part is I was one of those little girls. I got my menstrual period when I was 8 yrs. old. It was so hard to have a womans's body (full breasts and curves) in elementary school. The teasing by my classmates (like I was a freak), having to hide my menstrual pads in my desk praying no one would find them. I didn't understand why men (strangers) were saying bad things to me when i walked home from school. It still haunts me and yes I was molested by the uncles. A childs mind is not ready for a woman's body. To top it all off, I did get breast cancer when I was 38.

Even though I add 100% support from my family when I was little up until now, it messed me up.

PhD Nutrition - thank you for the education.

A couple of questions: I see that you credit obesity (adiposity) and the presense of fatty tissues moreso than the steriods in food sources for the increased levels of estrogen in girls. What is the correlation between body weight and hormone production? Does increased weight cause increased activity in the ovarian follicals?

You also stated that most steriods are denatured through digestion. How is that that estrogen taken orally (birth control pill, menopausal supplement) is able to retain it's viability and find it's way into the bloodstream through the digestive tract, but steriods in food products become denatured?

I'm inclined to agree with Recycled Hope as well as PhD Nutrition. I believe the change has to do with the amount of calories available, a genetic predisposition towards starting menstruation at a certain age, and the level of physical activity the girl is involved in. I was raised on a farm where we produced most of our own food, all without chemicals. Mom and Dad didn't buy into the "green revolution" that was happening around that time (I was born in 1969, hit puberty in the mid 80's...) and they refused to buckle under to the pressure to become a Monsanto-farm. Consequently, our business was harshly reduced to only Farmer's Market fare, our own personal food stocks, and trading with other farm families, but we were still able to make it after selling off some land. Mom started her period when she was about 15. Her mom started hers when she was 16, I started mine when I was 16. Most of my friends, who lived in town and whose parents were "drinking the Kool-aid" regarding the perfectly-formed non-organic fruits, veggies, and meats they could buy at the grocery store all started their periods early (10-12), but then again, they did not get the daily workout that I got working on the farm.

I find it very hard to believe that genetic modification has anything to do with it, however I can believe that some of the chemicals used in the fertilizer and pesticides could cause adverse effects...albeit temporary ones like headaches. Genetic mutation requires some significant inputs....simply eating residue from genes of another species of animal, in my studied opinion, would not cause a genetic mutation or alteration in another species. If the body could tolerate them at all, it would simply digest them and pass them through the intestinal track as unusable. There's also needs to be a consideration towards the synergy of the situation. An animal that was raised under genetic enhancement, fed grain that was derived through heavily dosed chemical fertilizers and pesticides - and that was genetically modified itself to produce higher yield - and then made to stand around day after day in a feedlot simply eating....not moving around, grazing, foraging for grasses and legumes as cows evolved to do....could all come together in a "perfect storm" where the meat is concerned. The meat is a result of the synergistic combination of all those inputs. It's not the individual components that one should worry about, but the unintended and infinite number of consequences possible when combining them.

I continue to eat natural today simply because I feel it is the safest and most humane form of food available. To me, how the animal was raised and the conditions to which it was subjected does, indeed, matter. There is ample evidence to prove that meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals (cattle, chicken) raised in a natural grazing environment is far lower in saturated fat and higher in naturally-occurring healthy fat (Omega 3 fatty acids) than that originating from grain-fed feedlot animals.

Good Luck-1524703, if what you state is true, then the destabilizing social effect in the present is more important than any of the future goals.

I also agree with Recycled Hope. I was 10.5 when I got my period (I am currently 37). Around the time my daughter turned 9 she started complaining she had bumps in her breast area. We took her to the Pediatrician and she confirmed they were breast buds. I thought I would hit the floor. She checked other areas and said we were very early in puberty - maybe 2 yrs away from her getting her period. So, that would put her right around the same time as me. I did some research and got some very good books for us to read together. I wanted to make sure she was very well informed of what might happen. My mother didn't give me any kind of information and I thought I was dying when I started. I am 5'1 and petite - never had a problem with weight. When I was 10, my mom said I was still wearing size 6X. My daughter is the same, small for her age. She is active - not as much as I was as a child, but times are different and kids just can't go outside and play unsupervised. She is slender, thin but not skinny. I hope that we get the 2 extra years and her body holds out until she is 11 - she is immature for her age. But either way, we are informed and prepared.

JKatze says: "Our biggest enemies are not outside the gate. They are the corporations so greed driven they will sacrifice the nation for profit."

No my friend, our biggest enemies are inside our doors. They are in our houses. As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

"Corporations" may flood the market with poor quality, poison laden garbage and label it food but they do not hold us down and cram it in our mouths. There is plenty of excellent food out there, one need only buy it. My wife and I feed ourselves a diet that is 80% organic with very, very few processed foods for $7.70 US each per day. Some posting here have claimed that healthy food is expensive but $7.70 per day does not seem expensive to me.

Perhaps one can eat mass produced factory farm food for less but at what price? Would you rather save $300 on your annual food budget and discover one day that you are seriously ill from having ingested a poisoned diet or spend a little more today and live a long and healthy life?

I'm in my mid 20s and started puberty when I was 11. My family ancestry is Irish and German. I've had absolutely no health problems in this area, unlike my sister.

My sister is similar to many girls in this article. She got hers at 8 and has had constant health problems since high school related to her period. She's now 22 and is worried that she's going to be infertile because of these medical conditions. She has some idea what's wrong with her but hasn't found an effective treatment that could allow her to work without calling in sick several times a month. To make it worse, these problems are a pre-existing condition and the treatments won't be covered by most insurance companies. She thinks it could be a recessive genetic trait because our maternal great-grandmother had only one child in the 1920s. She's tried everything - a switch in diet from conventional and high sugar products to organic, natural sugar, and gluten free products, which has helped a bit.

I have no idea what are the causes behind this. Like others, my best guess would be what we are eating and what is in our food.

In the short term, having breasts and getting periods in elementary school are minor problems compared to the long term problems. My sister's problems related to her body are what could happen to other girls. I'm sure there are others in similar situations to hers.

Early puberty is definitely not caused by obesity (or at least, not just obesity.) Our two daughters are 18 months apart, and one has always been around the 20th percentile for weight and the other around the 85th to 95th percentile. Both of them developed breasts between 10 and 11 years old. They eat the same foods and do the same activities, so the difference in their weights is simply nature.

My guess is the hormones in the milk they drink or estrogen-like compounds from the pesticides in their fruits and vegetables. Or maybe BPA from plastics. There are also a lot of prescription drugs in the water supply. Who knows? But the "obesity" angle seems like the same knee-jerk "blame-the-victim-so-we-don't have-to-look-for-the-real-cause" reaction that corporate America has promoted so well (so we stay off their case).

jkatze

bs'karen, the body of your comment is spot on but you're a tad off in your chemistry. '-ose' is the suffix to be alert to. Sucrose, maltose, fructose, glucose are all sugars. Fructose is the sugar extracted from corn. The U.S. is heavily invested in keeping corn producers propped up. And I don't mean family farmers.

I am sure other's will thank you for the lesson naturally occuring sugars.

Putting aside the proping up of the corn industry in this nation (I am old enough to remember the huge silos of corn that use to be stored rather than sold to prop up prices, back in the 70's), although fructose from corn syrup is naturally there, high fructose corn syrup is extracted to use as an inexpensive sweetener, because it tastes sweeter than natural corn syrup. However, we don't really know what the lasting effects of using said surgar, and in what quantities it is in fact safe, and in what quantities it is not safe. It is however believed that this sugar does not tell the pancreas to produce insulin letting the the body know it is full, possibly making us eat more. A simple google search will show how many organizations believe that a counter commercial needs to be produced to state what high fructose corn syrup actually is.

Although it is clear that, from what I have been able to find on the net, the fructose in HFCS is altered to make it sweeter. How the alteration takes place is a matter up for discussion, but I think that it is time for someone to give the FDA the power to demand that the corn (food) industry, provide an exact formula for HFCS, and prove that it is safe. How likely that will be to happen is anyone's guess, since folks in Washington right now can't seem to agree on much of anything!

There has been a good amount of research showing that estrogens function to modulate adiposity. The evidence for this is that adipocytes express estrogen receptors in great abundance. In the condition of high levels of adiposity, the mechanism by which to regulate this disordered system may include and increase in estrogen output, to modify adipocytes. However, the fact that obesity is a cronic dysregulation of this mechanism, estrogen fails to properly modify the adipocytes. All that is left, are high circulating levels of estrogen that can in turn, accelerate the onset of puberty. It is important to realize that genetic variations in a great number of genes that are invovled in this mechanism will impact the magnitude of the effect on the individual. In some cases, that effect could be the earlier onset of puberty.

Hmmm...lots of folks saying maybe this and that regarding food additives (only a vague reference in the article....FDA says hormones from food are extremely small compared to what we produce in our bodies)....where you folks get your science from ?

That aside, I only saw a couple posts that said people are accountable, most of you folks want to hold others accountable for childrens exposure....this may not sound good, but if you want the moderns of modern chemistry, exposures to modern chemistry is natural...and zero risk does not exist in nature.

So, put down the plastic cups, bottles, be your own risk manager, and do not expect the goverment to protect you.

Rant complete.

Vaccines and Genetically Modified food are genetically modifying US. This is thier purpose. To disable, sterilize, and cause early puberty (which causes pregnancy problems later in life). This is the agenda. Sooner or later the World will wake up and learn that the elite's agenda to depopulate the Earth is occuring right now. This is why this year's census is soooo important to "them". So they can tell if thier agenda is working.

WOW-o-WOW. I've heard some weird conspiracy theories, but this is a real winner! An agenda to depopulate the earth??? If that's the case, they'd want a DROP in pregnancy, not getting kids able to have children younger, and then more of them!

It's also obvious you slept through science class ... as well as government. The census is SO IMPORTANT, not because of your pet agenda, but because it is a: required by the Constitution and b: used to determine voting districts and financial distribution.

I do have to wonder what the effects will be in the future for these young girls hitting puberty so early. Cancers of the female sort, infertility, early menopause, osteoporosis, and the whole nine yards. What future will these young ladies have?

Time will tell.

Yes--- the cause is large Agri-Business corporations whose only motive is profit. It's the chemicals (bisphenol A, e.g.), the hormones, the antibiotics. See the movie FOOD INC., as it reveals the truth. Our government is supposed to be protecting the people, but it protects only the large corporations which harm the people.

ty dragoncane, annieoakley & VA Mother of 2.

annieoakley, I also was very skinny as a child when I began my period, so weight/fat wasnt a factor. I did have healthy food and was very active as a child. I didnt put on any "extra" weight until I had my first child. I went from a size 9 before I was pregnant to a size 16 after his birth and it took forever to get backdown to a 12, then, a year later, I became pregnant with my 2nd. They are 2 1/2 yrs apart.

VA Mother of 2, I found it amusing when you said "My mother didn't give me any kind of information and I thought I was dying when I started.". I had the very same experience - thought I was bleeding to death. I also was very skinny as a child and when I began my period, so weight wasnt a factor. My mother's explanation: It was God's punishiment to women and we had to live with it and NEVER tell anyone when we had it except her so she could get me what I needed to "handle it". Not once did she ever tell me it was my body maturing into adulthood. She also accused me, when I was pregnant with my 2nd child, of "taking my son's innocence away" when I bought him childrens books explaining "Mommy and the New Baby" and how the fetus develops. He had all kinds of questions as I got bigger and bigger and as his sister kicked from within me and he felt it while in my arms or on my lap. Instead of letting him fear that, I taught him about what was happening inside me with age appropriate books. That is something our mothers would NEVER have done and something 1/2 the women in world, in other countries that dont allow women to go out in public when they are pregnant because it would violate "morality" laws, can never do.

I made a point of letting my daughters know what to expect when my oldest daughter began showing signs that she would need a bra since that is the indicator that their period would begin. There was no way of telling 1 without her passing it on to the other 2 AND my son, so I explained it to all of them. She came to me the day hers began and told me it had begun and there was no big deal. My 2nd daughter came to me and sat next to me and informed me that "she was a woman now". I laughed and explained to her that was just the beginning of her pubic maturation, there was alot more to come and being a woman entailed more than just physical changes in her body. My youngest informed her sisters and they informed me. I am proud that they didnt have to face it with tears and fear as I did.

I was a late bloomer myself... just as embarrassing as getting it very early. None of my friends believed me, thought I was lying, then picked on me. During that time, the mid 80's, I was a competitive swimmer and had very low body fat and was quite petite to boot. I was 15-16 when I finally got my period. Believe it or not, but I was actually happy about it! I finally got it! All my friends had theirs by the time they were 12, I was the oddball, and sure felt like one.

I talked to my doc about it and she told me that because I worked out furiously swimming and lifting weights, was petite (5'2") and weighed only about 96-97 lbs, that was enough to put off starting full puberty. I had the breasts, but that was it. As I recall, they weren't that small either. Pretty funky. Anyway, being in a competitive sport and really working hard at it can help off-set the date you menstruate. Later in life I had lost some weight, went down to 97lbs and stopped menstruating all together. I ended up getting a period about every 6 months or so, but certainly made up for it when I did finally get it - lasted at least 10 days. Very abnormal, but normal for me I suppose..

I don't understand really why all of a sudden obesity has come into the picture as a prediction for early menstruation. Yeah, if a kid is real big, she'll get boobs, but can they tell for sure how much of that is just fat vs breast tissue? I doubt it. Also, what about the obese men, and boys for that matter. Ever heard of "man-boobs"? What does that have to say? Basically anyone who is obese will show signs of being pre-menstrual, including the males for their own breasts. As far as I'm concerned, it goes both ways. Ever seen an overweight teen in a pool without a t-shirt on? Rarely happens.

My daughter is thin, will soon be working out 5 days a week for tae kwon do to earn her adult black belt - she'll be 13 by then. Before it was only 2-3 days a week, now during school he's added another 3 days for her training because of her advancement. I'm glad she got her period now rather than waiting as long as I had too.

I just really wish these doctors and/or whomever does these studies rely on other outside information, like not only nutrition, good eating habits, but the good and bad of being in competitive sports, or just being a very small person. They all have varying degrees on menstruation time and age not to mention genetics! AND - why bring up a "possible link to breast cancer" when they really have absolutely no idea whether that's true or not? It's going to take years of following the same girls through their lives to get the answers to that question. I think it was irresponsible for them to even bring that up!

they keep pumping cows full of hormones to make them produce more milk, then we tell girls to drink lots of milk to prevent bone problems. The girls end up getting excess ammounts of hormones through the milk

You realize hormones are species specific right?

Actually, several hormones cross over species lines. Aptly fitting in with this discussion is Premarin - short for PREgnant MARe urINe. Used as an estrogen replacement in humans - but is an equine (horse) estrogen. Then there was the case in Idaho, if memory serves correctly. Dozens of people in the town were experiencing odd symptoms that was very similar to hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid function). Turns out the local meat processing plant used to be a kosher plant, but recently switched. By changing its methods, the cows' thyroids use to be white after slaughter, but now blended with the neck muscles. The thyroids were getting nicked and ground up into the ground beef.

So in all, I'd believe it to be growth hormones in our meat and possibly contaminants in our water before I'd believe it to be HFCS. What I'd like to see is if the results are statistically different for urban versus rural dwellers - i.e. city water versus well water.

There was a 1980s study (google it) with Puerto Rican young girls as young as 6 and 7 who were budding. They attributed it to the hormones being fed chicken, which is a food staple in the Spanish community. You gotta believe it's in the food. If you read prepared labels, it's got so many ingredients you cannot even decipher what's in it. I stopped with the high fructose corn syrup too....so glad that PEPSI is putting "sugar" back in it's sodas.
Now if they can figure out a way to "decaf" all the sodas on the market.

This is one of the side effects of big businesses running farms...... they not only mistreat the animals and feed them foods they do not normally eat, they also dose them with growth hormones to make them grow faster. We are told the amount of hormones is small..... yet we have children maturing too early.... oh yes, and the rising obesity problem.....but to put 2 and 2 together is far too simple for some. Corporate America recognized that food is a commodity that will always be in demand, that is why our government doesn't come to the aid of farmers, that way the small farms can be bought up, by the corporations, think about it. I am not into conspiracy theories but I can read and see what is happening. Unless the American people demand change things will only get worse for us.

My children were perfectly normal, but then when they were younger we lived on a dairy farm, used our own raw milk, and butchered our own beef, and I cooked. They weren't fat, either, even though I didn't have them running frantically from activity to activity...they just played...

simplify your lives people, work less, do more at home, put your money where it has value, in food that's safe your your kids...

Or deal with the consequences

Did you all miss the point OBESITY - America is the FATTEST country in the world!

Parents need to step up to the plate and maybe monitor the amount there children are eating. I think it is all the neglect and personally think it is child abuse to let your children eat so much that they become obese and enter puberty too early. Honestly, this doesn't seem to be such an issue in other countries where they just aren't as FAT as americans

Funny, the rise in early puberty is tracking almost perfectly with the trend towards obesity. But when researchers try to track a trend between higher intakes of hormonally treated food and early onset they can't get one to work.

Good thing you einsteins aren't scientists, like the lady who said no way obsity was causing it because of her sisters. Two things for her, first people who are overweight and have overweight kids often fail to notice. Second, 10 and 11 isn't necessarily all that early. There is a big difference between 8-9 and 10-11. I grew up in the 60's and in the 4th grade (10) the first girls started popping up with breasts. They tended to be the larger girls too if not obese since obesity was rare then. By the 6th grade (12) there were a lot with breasts. Your little story means nothing.

Please, leave the science to people qualified to do it. I bet you gomers don't believe in vaccines either.

I hate to say this but our water supply is laced with drugs. Our soil is laces with drugs. It is not just the food

I do understand a certain amount of what some of the more scientifically informed are saying here. But I don't believe it.

I was born 1954. When I went through puberty, the typical age was 13 -16. And few Americans were going hungry in the 50s and 60s.

I don't care what any scientist says, because there have been too many instances in which their so-called studies were shown to be compromised by funding. I'm not eating food laced with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, genetic alterations, mutant bacteria, and god-only-knows what else. And I don't drink the water, either.

It's a shame when the almighty dollar is so important that we will turn our own babies into freaks of nature for profit.

During the 1960's the average age of puberty was around 14 years old, as I remember. I was not malnourished, but was physically active and thin, and I started puberty even later than this. Both of my daughters, whom were breast fed until they were a year old, were over 14 years old when they began to menstruate. I truly believe that chemicals from plastics that have leached into our food and water supplies have something to do with this. BPA is known to interfere with horomones, and I am sure it and other chemicals from plastics (petroleum based) have worked their way into our water supplies.

Rather than childhood obesity being thought to be a cause of the rise in premature puberty, maybe it is just another symptom of the underlying cause? I used glass baby bottles and baby food jars when my kids (during the eighties) were fed from a bottle...most everyone did until somewhere around the seventies or eighties, I think. With all the use of plastics in our daily lives today, perhaps the damage is being started inutero, setting these little girls up for early puberty before they are even born? It is not good.

PhD,

its hard to be heard through the paranoia. The more I work out and continue to read about nutrition and as a side effect, hormone regulations, the more I realized that steroids in cattle and chicken are not interfering with my own development. While I tend to eat more natural food now, it has more to do with avoiding enriched foods.

I find it funny in a very sad way that most people here are blaming beef and chicken for hormonal fluctuations while they don't seem to have any issue eating food that has been soaked in bleach and re-injected with nutrients.

The estrogen levels as far as I have read are mostly effected by, as you stated earlier, adiposty, and effect men as well as women. That obesity is not coming from animal products but on our increased consumption of processed carbohydrates. It is very difficult to become fat eating chicken breasts and broccoli.

The logic stating that the animal products are responsible are akin to stating that eating 40 grams of animal protein 3 times a day will be the equivalent of taking steroids. If that were the case I would be angry and huge. Instead I am forced to lift all these heavy weights and tend to be tired and sore :)

This goes along with another study I read years ago that male sperm count has been declining since the 1950's (as animal husbandry changes through the years?). The same hormones that would cause female changes would also effect male fertility.

Can't believe so many have taken the bait here in this latest distraction story from the central planners and their media megaphones! In this time of rapid national deterioration the fear is food supply or obesity and not terrorism or economic collapse from overborrowing and underperforming figureheads - are you kidding? Any wise person would be focusing on the important, urgent and real dangers facing our country due to gross mismanagement - the unacknowledged double dip great recession, failing monetary policy, foolish fiscal policy, dire unemployment, record raging deficits, outside alien invaders and their insider enablers seeded in our midst to destroy this country from within, so many dangers. And yet it seems to work as a successful ploy to toss out a story straight from the crowd spouting grow your garden or better yet don't eat much of anything while we mega mooch, gourmet munch and wannabee playboy dribble as america burns down - are you kidding? At the rate America is falling off the cliff there will soon be no worry of either food production or obesity. There are actually global food shortages already. The American farmer has been cut off at the knees except for corporate welfare farmers. Wake up. This is just the latest chicken little the sky is falling distraction. Worry about something real. Like the 10% official unemployment rate that is more like 17% in reality. Like the 1.3 trillion in wasted spending in the last eighteen months producing nothing of permanence or value to America and the annual price tag that is trending closer to 3 trillion. Now that is something to worry about. Not the latest it's for the children nonsense that is never about the children, only a distraction. Better wonder what the real and unreported story of today really is before picking up the thread on this story, a follow up to the weekend's mooching and dribbling as America deteriorates rapidly.

Well, one actually has to wonder about the whole idea of obesity as well. Is childhood obesity the cause or the effect? Who really believes that children want to be obese? I realize that it isn't completely cause or effect; but I think most people don't give enough credence to natural processes and outside influences (chemicals).

Personally, I had always had problems trying to gain weight until my health crashed due to an undiagnosed illness after which I gained 40 pounds in 6 months with no change in diet - that sure changed my smugness about people's weight problems. I no longer believe that being over-weight is merely due to a lack of willpower.

Just some food for thought. Research suggests that intestinal flora may a play part in causing obesity. And page 116 of this report states that once mice were injected with the stomach bacteria from obese mice, they gained weight in spite of actually eating less. There have been a couple of research papers suggesting this as well as research that has shown a big change in the microbiota of humans having undergone gastric bypass surgery.

Basically, the point is that there is much more to weight gain than a simple matter of will power.

Or it could be that obesiety is on the rise and that is lowering testosterone levels in obese men? Could the actions of people instead of their environment be the cause of their suffering?

Oh no, because that would mean people need to take responsibility instead of blaming some faceless enemy for poisoning them through that mystery 'science'.

Most people on here so far either point to exceptions as the rule or fail to see the major systemic change in the society today, which is the rise in obesity.

All the hormones and other krap that is put into our food today, what do you expect to happen to kids being fed all these hormones and chemicals that have added to the food we consume on a daily basis.

This story is nothing new. A family in Mexico many years back had an 8 year old girl and a 10 year old boy that had already developed pubic hair growth, the girl had breast and began her menstrual cycle, the boy was growing a moustache as well had reached puberty too.

The assosciated to the meats they were feeding to their kids, (cheap food) and hormones were used to make the chicken and cattle to grow faster and bigger for consumer consumption.

Greg in Oceanside, the Bible has nothing to do with this issue! Stop blaming religious people for being shortsighted!

I agree with the Hormone statements. They did mention it on TV a few years back and I don't doubt it. I blame it on the FDA as well as they are suppose to be here to protect the consumer..but all they want to do is control our food and drugs. Bad food leads to unhealthy bodies and that leads to us using their drugs to cope with our ailments and infirmities. They bank off of it as they know that it is a BIG payoff for them. They are tied with the AMA to get those drugs selling. Doctors get a kick back on every 10 prescriptions they write on the same drug. You tell me when the last time they cured a disease or infirmity? Not since Dr. Salk discovered the vaccine for Polio...and that was not suppose to happen.

Don't forget the hormones that are excreted by us into our water supply. Or the compounds in our many of our products that mimic hormones in our bodies. When the Potamac is polluted with these compounds to the point of changing the gender of male fish to female, one has to wonder what it is doing to us. How much of this phenomenon is related to the decreasing sperm counts in adult males?

This study has so far only released statements that make you just go... well duh! I mean, seriously... BPA is a synthetic estrogen found in certain types of plastic, such as in plastic water bottles. Puberty in girls is brought on by estrogen. There's absolutely no reason in the world to believe that feeding synthetic estrogen to girls wouldn't have this effect.

Later on this Article Newsvine, Comment #494 and responses from two different parents who have daughters (three...one has one daughter and one has twin daughters...all of whom were premature infants) who were early premies and are now experiencing early puberty. Concerning the possible connection with chemicals from plastics, I mentioned...

You bring up an interesting point, that I have long wondered the possible implications of. IF chemicals from plastics leaching into our environment/bodies and affecting our endocrine systems are playing a part in this premature puberty...I have wondered if they may see a higher incidence of premature puberty in premies. As a newborn nurse, I have noticed for some time that the premies are exposed to so many plastics that lead directly into their body systems. Of particular significance, I thought, could be the heated oxygen that warms in plastic containers and travels through plastic tubing, as well as plastics in the feeding tubes, bottles, warmed isolettes they are in, etc. Even possibly could have implications of other conditions, such as the rise in autism, but I am just wondering...some good scientific studies could show if there is any correlation, and there are many other factors affecting early premies that could also play a role. Obviously, some of these things are necessary to save the premies life, and dealing with possible effects is much preferable to not using available equipment for survival, but it could be a starting place for us to learn from and maybe find a link with chemicals leached from plastics, or some other link, I think.

Has anyone else noticed any correlation with premature birth and early childhood puberty?

Of particular significance, I thought, could be the heated oxygen that warms in plastic containers and travels through plastic tubing, as well as plastics in the feeding tubes, bottles, warmed isolettes they are in, etc.

Good question especially since the 'soft' plastics contain more of these chemicals and are easier to leach. They contain more because these chemicals are responsible for the flexibility of the plastics. They are generically referred to as plasticizers. Phthalates are among the most common.

We used to find them in all our extracts of organisms as contaminates from the plastic and rubber equipment in the lab.

You said, hor.

Another Old Guy- I AM taking responsibility for myself hence my statement....

Other than meat we pretty much grow our own food, no pesticides etc... I buy my meat from the butcher who gets it from a local farm not a mass producing mess.

We don't drink milk (milk is for baby cow brains not people brains)

I also agree with the poster who was talking about not eating enriched foods, I see that word on a package and I shudder what exactly is it enriched with??

Food for thought (pun intended) If you can't read it, don't eat it!

Hormones and who knows what other contaminants are in the food sold today. Our best bet is to grow our own if we can or to buy from local farmers who do not use pesticides etc. Not always possible depending on where you live but a study should reveal the difference between city and more rural people.

It's known that high protein consumption leads to muscle building if exercise is also part of the regime but it also stimulates sex hormones. Milk being a contributing factor for acne. The more water you drink the better off you are in riding the body of contaminants.

Doctors readily perscribe all manner of pills for every ailment real or imagined, these are synthetics. Some are necessary and life saving others are just a quick fix for the lazy mind and body malady todays society indulges in. Ask yourself, would I deliberately chew on plastic or on polyester panties?

Women subject themselves to BC pills and menopausal hormone pills that didn't exist prior to the late 1960's. There are other methods for BC and herbal remedies for the inconvenience of menopause, use them.

Who really knows what all those drugs imbibed have done to our bodies and subsequently to our progeny? If you like taking chances buy a lottery ticket it's cheaper, less obtrusive to our bodies, and you might be a winner.

My grandparents knew how to live, they lived long productive lives. Simple: eat healthy, spend time out doors, exercise normally, not some intense regime. Sports, dance, swim garden, you get the picture ... Drink plenty of water and rest at least 3-4 hours before mid-night is the best. Our schedules today are chaotic but, take time for family and friends, and read. The best legacy you can give your children is a healthy body and mind.

Simplify your life. Live long and prosper.

Be aware also of soy protein in lots of processed food AND soy infanr formula - it's a crime, ignored by all our governing agencies, doctors, dieticians, the media.

maybe if they stopped putting so many hormones in our food this wouldn't be happening?

There's a number of reasons why precocious puberty happens, hormones and chemicals in food are just one of them. Some girls can natually enter puberty at a young age due to genetics.

Yes! I really think that is why this is happening. It's unnatural & should not be happening but when humans go messing with things they shouldn't be messing with...well here we are. Actually it isn't just the food & it is specifically Growth Hormones. My daughter came home from school a few years back & told me she found out about this too & that it was not just food, but the water supplies as well....meaning there is no escape from it ...kids all have to eat & drink.

I TOTALLY agree with you

Micheal--absolutely correct. The reason it won't be addressed is because of greed! Agri business wants meat animals to grow fast in appalling conditions, so they give all the hormones and antibiotics in feed! Grow them fast and ship them out so they can make lots of money--at the expense of our children!

I am in total agreement here. The hormones given to chickens and also to cows are to increase BREAST SIZE (hence more meat for sale and more milk for sale). It makes sense that THIS is the problem. The poultry & dairy industries should revise their habits, in my opinion.

It's true. And it doesn't just stop here. It's almost everything in America. The leaders of this country are allowing the destruction of America. But they won't listen to the PEOPLE, only themselves. That's why we have this problem, why we always have some sort of recall on toys made in China (the lead). That's why children are so unruly, why 30 year old men still play video games... The leaders are allowing us to become so dumbed down. No child left behind? I understand the concept... but we are dumbing down other children in the process. AHHH! I could go on all day about how the leaders of this country are so greedy and corrupt, and they're making us the PEOPLE they are supposed to be SERVING deal with the consequences of THEIR actions...

Dairy cows do not get hormones. There are 'milk/slaughter withdrawal periods' for certain anti-biotics and other drugs giving to milk and beef cows. But beef cows do get hormones. Search around and try to buy local. Ask your butcher about hormones, although they can tell you whatever you want to hear. I thought, several years ago, girls were devloping faster than they use to. It was about the time diet plans and doctors said "eat chicken". So demand went up but suppliers couldn't keep up. Then hormones were approved and viola! 12 year olds started looking like Dolly Parton.

Or maybe, just maybe, it's simple evolution and/or physosomatic reactions ... when you feed kids sex education in elementary school, and feed them a constant diet of sex in advertising, TV and movies, from the time they're 5 and the doses get expotentially heavier as they progress year by year until it completely overwhelms kids by the time they're 13 ... it's no mystery to me.

You can blame hormones in milk and food if you wish, and perhaps they're may be a "little" something to that, but I think you're overlooking the more definite and undeniable issues of how media, television and other forms of entertainment have progressed at phenomenal rates the last 20 years.

Everyone, please go read a chemistry book! Hormones can be either steroids (estrogen, testosterone, etc.) or proteins. Growth hormone is a protein. Should any of it survive the food item's processing in the first place, it is broken down in the digestive tract into its respective amino acids and is not absorbed into the bloodstream. For the record, no hormones are allowed in poultry sold in the US, "organic" or otherwise, so, those labels that tout "hormone-free" on chicken? They're for all you scientifically-ignorant and gullible hippies, so you can feel smarter, better, and healthier. Rrrrr. Bad science, and manipulation, and outright lies, make me angry. There's likely a lifestyle (fattier foods, less activity, preservatives, who knows?) factor causing humans to change (evolve?) in large numbers, but it has obviously been going on for decades to effect such a change across a broad population.

STexan you are spot on, what if ove rstimulation of the mind causes these changes, and maybe its not the food.

Buy local is absolutely right!

To save this nation we must return to family farms producing wholesome food. I became a vegetarian 30 years ago for many reasons one of which was how sick I got on any meat bought at the supermarket. I have recently put meat back in my diet 1-3x per month. I buy LOCAL and organic.

Where I live, our farmers' market is growing by leaps and bounds. We're a small county but often hear we have one of the best markets in the state. Between my home grown and what I can get at the market, I need buy nothing at a store except milk and a few staples and we keep hearing rumors that local milk is coming. Of course, I can and freeze to stay fed year round but that is so easy to do. It's been years since I bought a jar of pickles.

Right on Melissa. I wish people paid attention in their science classes.

Hormones are small proteins that have to enter into the blood stream to have any biological effects. To overcome this problem, some of you may know people that require hormone injections, or topical creams. The main reason for this site of entry is that hormones, like all proteins that are ingested, will be denatured (losing most to all of their biological activity) in the stomach and intestines, even along the brush border. Whereas, there may be the potential for some proteins to be absorbed sublingualy, or to be protected by casein, or other proteins in the milk, as some have suggested, the total content of hormone reaching and effectively exerting an effect on the body is limited. There is however information that would suggest, quite strongly, that excess adiposity is correlated with an increase in estrogen, which would account for the increase in young girls, as well as, reconcile why african american girls are at higher incidence of early onset puberty, as there is higher incidence of childhood obesity. Even studies looking at the use of phytoestrogens, such as the soy isoflavones, have not conclusively shown a direct impact on infant development and sexual characteristics.

Just FYI: Don't always buy into this "organic" stuff. Living in a family that has a trucking business they haul produce. Guess what? The organic is on one side of the street and the regular stuff is on the other side of the street in most cases. And the "organic" stuff gets hauled with the regular stuff all the time.

Most of it is a scam to jack up rates on food. Now what you should pay extra for is meat from free range animal farms. That is definitely worth the extra money. Better quality all around.

Please read The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell. He presents an exhaustively researched argument that animal proteins are to blame to many of our modern dieases, including early puberty. That's meat and diary. His lifetime of research also shows that plant-based foods are more than capable of providing our protein and calcium needs without the dangers of animal-based foods.

For all our "scientists" know, the hormones and other chemicals used to treat food could be suppressing changes in human evolution, and the "organic" foods that do not contain any of the new additives or pesticides may be the cause of some of these changes.. That is the funny thing about our world - we really don't know anything, we just make assumptions based on our extremely limited knowledge of how "life" really works. Worst of all, the amount of time spent studying potential effects of our environment on humanity is incredibly short, particularly in terms of evolution.

The only thing we, or any human, can say for sure is that we really don't know. A dozen generations from now we might have a better understanding, or we might have just learned that our entire basis of knowledge is wrong. Worrying about it will only make your life miserable.

I'm convinced it's the hormones in chicken. My 13 yr old daughter (who now has a well developed chest) started developing when she was 8. From age 5 until 10, her foods of choice were pbj sandwiches and chicken nuggets. My other daughter (now 15) rarely ate chicken nuggets, and didn't start developing until she was 14. Is this a coincidence? I don't think so.

You can blame hormones in milk and food if you wish, and perhaps they're may be a "little" something to that, but I think you're overlooking the more definite and undeniable issues of how media, television and other forms of entertainment have progressed at phenomenal rates the last 20 years.

um, are you seriously arguing that television is causing young girls to hit puberty sooner but that hormones and chemicals pumped into our food supply having nothing to do with it?!?

Man, you're a regular culture warrior...

I'm not saying the stuff we put in food has been proven to be the cause, and there is much good argument posted above. But I can promise you, it has nothing to do with TV (and if it did, why wouldn't French girls being hitting puberty at 5 seeing as how their media is far more sexualized than American media. We sure do like our violence in this country however...)

mdsj---having worked in the organic industry for years, I can assure you that there are federal regulations regarding the shipping and handling of organic produce. If it is coming in contact with non organic produce, it is no longer organic. Most organic distributors deliver their own product. There is no conventiional product on the trucks. Don't know what you are talking about, but it sounds like a limited situation. Check it out with Four Seasons, Albert's and other organic distributors---they all have their own trucks!!!! Also, please take note in the retail sector all reputable stores have sections of their produce department dedicated to organics, it is to keep it separate. That is required by law.

As far as the organic stuff preventing premature development. I don't know about that. I have a daughter that is 12 1/2 years old. She started around 6 months ago, which is what most of us call 'normal'. She did eat organic products until age 8, but she also ate school lunches and at her friends homes! I think there is more to it and until we know for certain, it would be a good idea to stop pointing fingers at different industries. Just use good judgement. Don't allow you kid to overeat, eat alot of processed foods or foods high in sugar/fructose. Going to extremes is never the answer.

Just FYI: Don't always buy into this "organic" stuff. Living in a family that has a trucking business they haul produce. Guess what? The organic is on one side of the street and the regular stuff is on the other side of the street in most cases. And the "organic" stuff gets hauled with the regular stuff all the time.

Most of it is a scam to jack up rates on food. Now what you should pay extra for is meat from free range animal farms. That is definitely worth the extra money. Better quality all around.

Yes, this is very true. The "organic" label in the US isn't strictly regulated. There is a website that rates farms by how "organic" they really are. Not all organic is equal.And, some herbacides and pesticides used by organic farmers is actually just as bad as some of the stuff non-organic farmers use.

BTW, just because some farms aren't labeled "organic" doesn't mean their stuff isn't just as good, if not better than the "organic". Our local farm is about 90% organic. But because of some logistics, they can't use the label.

The best thing we can do is to support our local agriculture, especially the small independent farms, and get to know them. Ask lots of questions and take an interest in where our food comes from and how it's cultivated.

Wish I had known in high school that watching TV would have such an effect---is there a special channel for that?

But there are budding concerns.

Quoted from article. Gutter joke??

Is there a difference between organic and non-organic? Try it yourself. Do not wait for researchers. Eat organic for a whole week and see.

mike K....you can likely not pronouce all the chemical names in the organic food either. Lack of chemistry does often breed fear of chemicals.

mdsj....fyi...what does non organic food on the same truck have to do with the organic food being on the same truck....if you are saying they are unlabled, that is likely a seperate issue. If you think they cross contaminant each other, that is kind of funny :)

Pesticides and herbicides have "don't apply within 'x' amount of days before harvest" warnings on them. Polysor..., monohydr..., whatever poly-mono-hydro things are in all this processed fast food crap and probably 90 % of what comes from grocery store's is not good for us. What little I eat fast food, I always like to see the 300# person in front of me order the biggest thing on the menu "ginormous sized" and then a "Diet Tub-o-Cola" to wash it all down. I've always said it's not what you eat, it's how much.

The subliminal messages in television is'nt completely hairbrained.

mdsj --

Most of it is a scam to jack up rates on food.

Thanks for the information. That's why I buy from organic brands I know and trust. Many big food companies are jumping on the bandwagon, but I don't buy a new brand until I've done the research and know who owns the brand. If it's owned by Kraft, for example, I don't care what they claim on the package -- I won't eat it. If nothing else, I'd rather support those companies that were doing the right thing before it became popular. Kraft and companies like it have already proven themselves to be untrustworthy with the trash they have fed us for years, so why should we trust them now?

But frankly, all you need to do to know a fruit or vegetable is organic is sniff it and then take a bite. It smells wonderful and it tastes so much better than the frankenfood that there is no comparison.

I also grow some fruits and veggie hydroponically, so have fresh organics year round nearly free.

Micheal, watch the plastics, fire retardants, and a number of other modern additives. Their long term effects on development is poorly studied on humans. Even the animal studies are severely limited in the number of individuals and duration. Our testing methods need a great deal of improvement for things that are not life altering. Some products are more than just a convenience, some delay death for years, like cancer medicines.

rjo120 - My point is that "organic" produce is not supposed to be in contact with "non organic" produce. There are rules as to what make food "organic". I will tell you that just because the land that organic food is grown on hasn't been sprayed with chemicals in six years doesn't mean the ground isn't still contaminated with the stuff. Even from "reputable" organic providers that you all love and trust.

Im not saying that all organic is bad but a large majority is junk and even the stuff that is legitimate can't be fully trusted. Organic food is not as heavily regulated as a lot of you seem to think.

@ #2.3

I fail to see the problem in 30yr old men playing videogames or how it connects with people being "dumbed down". It was a really ignorant comment which led me to view your comment history and learn you are far from the intellectual sort.

Perhaps you should look in a mirror when speaking of the dumbing down of society.

Hestia- frankenfood!! I laughed out loud for real, that was awesome! I too grow my own food but your suggestion of hydroponically growing is very interesting! I think I'd like to look into that some more, and possibly try it myself Thanks!

It makes them Nancy boys. It's now called Metro-sexual, I call them soft, spin less, shell of a man. This is one of the reasons men are so whipped in this county.

It makes him a non-doctor payed by the government to tell us its safe to eat all those very unhealthy hormones and chemicals. get informed.

Smith- Your snide remark is an invitation to a UFC-style smackdown.

Don't try and dazzle us with your bogus titles either...

Dr. this doesn't make sense.

I don't know about Mr. Kline, but from your comment, are you a Proctologist??

Well, this might be the only way to finally lower America's hideous crime rate: give every boy a bag o' corn chips and soda every day. ADHD rates go up but murder and rape rates go down later. Trade off. Trouble is, they're still able to get those pubescent 8-year-old girls pregnant. Seriously, it has to be more than coincidence that our corporate food supply is little more than tasty toxic dirt full of chemicals and foreign (literally) substances. Our air and water aren't off the hook, either.

These "spineless" men are the same men that managed to change the world through the decades with their music and art. I wouldn't exactly call them a shell of a man. It takes a lot of courage to do what they've done.

Besides meat and milk, just think about all of the fast food kids are eating. It was a special treat for us to eat at McDonald's when I was a kid - maybe once every six months.

Kids today eat there and at other fast food places all the time. Anyone who doesn't see that connection is blind. Also, it stated clearly in the article that being overweight is connected. How are the kids becoming overweight???

It gives men tits too.

Ever look at any man over age 25 without a shirt on?

The effects are similar to steroids.

My, My. Sensitive aren't we. I was merely trying to point out that we are all victims of our limited food sources. Mr. Kline was the one inferring that your sons are wimps, not I. Four major companies are responsible for almost 80% of our food and there is no such thing as "healthy food" available in any grocery store in this country. My credentials are real and I'm not a proctologist, considering there is no such specialty. I am a family doctor who is very concerned about our food sources and the defamation of children by someone who should know better.

Since those chemicals have been in our food supply for decades, that is not the problem. A lot of this is weight related. Obesity is on the rise. Girls are hitting 80lbs sooner than they used to. I'm using 80 lbs as a guide because most girls/women that fall below that weight stop menstruating. It's commonly seen in those being treated for eating disorders. Also, girls are a lot taller and bigger than they used to be....not just overweight. If it was all these hormones in the food, young boys would also have issues as well. More girls would be seen reaching puberty earlier. I would believe it was more related to the increase in obesity than what it in our foods.

Dr. Smith, what it makes Mr. Kline is a layperson with an honest opinion and the ability to express it without getting hostile and verbally abusive. That's a lot more than I can say for you. If you really ARE a physician, I certainly pity your patients, your colleagues and your family. That's an awful lot of anger to have to be around on a regular basis.

Oh, and BTW, the correct term is implying, not inferring. I hope you paid more attention in your medical school classes than in those on English grammar.

Uh no it's not weight related. Weight does not cause glands to grow.

I've seen 10 and 11 year old girls with double Ds and they weren't fat otherwise.

Young boys and older boys have issues too, it's called gynocomastia. More and more non steroid users are having problems with breast tissue growth. Search the web.

Not to mention this:

what's that make you besides an uninformed cretin?

By using "what's", that means you are saying, "what is that make you..."

Even doctors have those who finish last in class, but they are still doctors, nonetheless. Scary.

I think it is a sad state of affairs when even a kindly Doctor gets no respect on the vine.

Besides, it has nothing to do with food you buy that is not prepared.

This is the fault of McDonalds and rap music. Check out McDonalds campaign strategy and how it has changed over the years. They are almost exclusively targeting black people and of course, dumbing down their menu.

"I'll have a Mickey D'S homes, order of fries, and say man, supersize that or make it bigger or something. Oh, and the latest Snoop Dog single wid dat."

You are what you eat..maybe the doctor eats @!$%#s...

SMD - you are under-informed. Your reasoning is like saying that pollution can't be causing more health problems because we have had pollution for decades. It is true that there have been chemicals in our food for decades; however the types and sheer amount of chemicals that bombard our systems on a daily basis is steadily increasing. Even if the changes to our health are only due to our changing eating habits, that still does not change the implication that the foods we are eating are highly suspect healthwise. Is it just a coincidence that the quality of the food in schools have gone down (healthwise not necessarily tastewise) and childhood obesity and other health problems in kids have gone up? I would have loved having vending machines full of junk food when I went to school - I guess it was a good thing for me that they weren't available.

Is that right, Micheal Kline? Tell that to my 6'+ grandson. He believes in keeping his hands nice, attends to his complexion, gets his hair styled, and is very attentive to how he dresses.

He's also a star basketball player and 2 seasons ago took down a 10 point buck with one shot through the heart.

Why are you so threatened by attractive accomplished men?

Weight would absolutely make increased estrogen in a young girl;s body because fatty tissue holds more estrogen. If a young girl is beginning to make estrogen and there is available fat to carry it, she would have more than the average girl.

Also, dairy cows do too get progesterone. If a cow fails to let down her milk, she will get progesterone in a shot to force her body to let down milk. I used to milk cows in a milking parlor, and I would always try to get her to drop her milk, by pushing on her udder like a calf would. But people that were in a hurry and lazy would just pick up a prefilled syringe and give it to the cow. I would also call the cows up to the parlor. Lazy people pull a cord to push a electrified fence line behind them. There are lazy ways and nice ways to milk. I regularly got over 10000 pounds of milk a shift. If I was not working and they used the shots, imagine the amount of progesterone in that milk.

Gay people can hunt and play sports too.. cant they?

It is crazy Mr. Crazy in Alabama that you would accuse Dr. Smith of being verbally abusive, yet Mr. Kline's comment ..."It makes them Nancy boys. It's now called Metro-sexual, I call them soft, spin less, shell of a man. This is one of the reasons men are so whipped in this county." ... is simply a "layperson with an honest opinion and the ability to express it without getting hostile and verbally abusive". Yeah, Mr Kline's comment is not hostile, offensive, or downright ignorant. I don't know what it is with people on this blog. Everyone is so intimidated by anyone with more academic success or credentials or experience or expertise...than themselves. People celebrate stupidity and baseless ignorant comments. It is such a sad commentary of our times. I guess if you put an idiot on a pedestal than it doesn't make you look so dumb, is that it?

dftt, people.

Allan Hopkins:

By using "what's", that means you are saying, "what is that make you..."

Wrong. It's also a contraction for "what does" or "what has." "Is" is not the only thing that an s can stand for after an apostrophe in a contraction. Go google contractions & learn what they really are. Better yet, I'll give you a link. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/grammar/contractions/

Make sure YOU know what you're talking about before correcting someone on a public forum.

Holy crap, are there really people who still think that weight does not effect hormone levels? Every product you place in your body produces a hormonal response. Every time your systems is not optimized a hormonal response is taken. If you are fat, you have increased estrogen.

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/16/9/1880.full

Please for the love of yourselves read and understand that as you ingest surplus calories, especially sugars, you are increasing hormones such as estrogen and causing insulin spikes which can increase the bodies ability to store fat.

OK, most of you will just want circumstantial evidence to go off of, so here goes.

Take a look at EVERY body builder's diet, it is complete with chicken breasts in quantities far beyond that of any normal person and increased protein supplements. These men are far from being overloaded with estrogen, aren't they? In fact they may have too little. Female body builders take the same regimen and they LOOSE breast tissue.

So what is the superficial difference? These body builders are not fat and they exercise daily.

Body builders break the superficial link that all of you seemed to have formed between poultry growth hormones and estrogen spikes in (majority) obese children. That and estrogen is not fed to animals to make them grow larger; that is just foolishness. Estrogen inhibits testosterone which leads to faster muscle growth, kinda counter productive eh? Also ignored is the science that firmly points out that humans cannot use poultry growth hormones even if we did not break them down during digestion.

I would go into more detail, but so far it has all been ignored, so it would just be a waste of time. Keep buying organic and fearing the beef while you eat your bleached flour and white rice.

Bill - look at my links in 3.19. These are just one consideration to make when contemplating weight gain. Of course other health issues do not necessarily abrogate a person's responsibility in his or her weight - however it is simply another thing that needs to be taken into account in trying to develop a weight control program.

I always had problems trying to gain weight. I was 6 ft and 126 pounds - I ate like a horse and could not gain weight. I finally managed to get my body to the weight I wanted (175) from a year of lifting weights and drinking massive quantities of weight gaining supplement (I did not know at that point that I was allergic to milk/whey) in addition to the huge quantities I ate. I maintained a steady weight (though not eating as much) until years later when my health crashed from an undiagnosed illness related to my allergies. After the crash I put on 40 pounds in 6 months. Flabbergasted, I drastically changed my diet eating smaller much healthier portions - I didn't lose a pound. I started exercising and started gaining weight (I wasn't doing enough to increase muscle mass). What finally allowed me to loose the weight? Sleep. The health problem that caused the crash was undiagnosed severe sleep apnea. I took a two week vacation and slept 16-20 hours a day and lost 10 pounds. The next month I took another two weeks of vacation and slept and lost another 10 pounds. The rest of the weight I slowly lost as I spent all my off work time sleeping.

The point is that my 40 lb. weight gain in 6 months had absolutely nothing to do with willpower. I am no longer so smug about people with weight problems.

if hormones are negated by the digestive tract, how is it that oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy work?

No it wasn't, there has been no "sudden swing" to homosexuality. There has been a sudden swing to non-scientists putting their ideological nonsense into the news on a regular basis.

Obesity could be part of the problem with early puberty though, the current focus on reducing that problem will provide an opportunity to look for correlations.

Sudden swing? There have been gay men since the beginning of time. I think the "swing" comes from feeling less ridiculed and being able to come out and be themselves. There's the same amount of gay's now as there was hundreds of years ago. They just feel more confident these days.

Yes.

• Metrosexuality
• Bromance
• Moobs
• Man bags/Murses
• Wussy/Bi@hy behavior

Forget homosexuality, it's getting a little dicey with the "straight" guys.

I think manbags are more manly than brief cases. So lather that on your chemical induced celery & chew it! ;-)

Whoa. You talkin' to me!? lol Seriously. Calm down. A.) I'm a heterosexual woman married to a man. B.) My dad is an intellectual mechanical engineer who built cars, and almost anything else I had in my house growing up. Stop stereotyping. Good lord.

Oh, I think homosexuality has always been around us. But because of the bad reputation for it, and the idea that it is unnatural, people kept it much quieter than they do now. In a small town of 80 in Iowa, my Mom knew of four. Not even knowing about the few that possibly raced out of therre when they graduated high school.

"You might be a homophobe if......"

but in generations past the homosexual behavior was much less prevalent.

completely not true.

if there was enough homosexual behavior around at the time of sodom and gomorrah for it to attract "divine intervention" i don't think it's anything new. hell, the whole damn city was busy.

of COURSE it seems more prevalent now. purely because there are fewer social penalties.

does it make you uncomfortable to look at a crowd and think "one in ten, one in ten"?

Nah, they were always around. They just didn't march down Main Street in their undies carrying a 6 ft paper mache penis.

Someone needs to read about all of the gay presidents, leaders and kings our world has had in years past. It wasn't hidden; it was a way of life until someone said it was wrong and presumably unacceptable.

I also happened to be 8 when I started to mature. I was/am not overweight and only allowed fast food a couple of times a year. At age 9 I had full on boobs, my period and it continued to happen at a very fast pass. By the time I finished high school I was a 36 G.

When I finished breastfeeding my first child, I had a breast reduction. I believe genetics has a lot to do with a girl’s development. I just looked to my cousins and grandmother to see that I am not so "abnormal".

Whether it is from hormones found in food and/or water, it was very hard growing up built like I am. I am only 5'2" on my "tall days". The teasing and jealousy from girls/woman and the sexual advancements from boys/men of all ages are very hard on a girl. Most were surprised that I had a brain beyond my boobs as they did little to define the person I am.

I am now 40 with 3 girls of my own. They are starting at a "normal" age. I too limit the amount of processed foods they intake as it's just healthier in general and ironically the food actually tastes better. Anyone grow tomatoes and then try to eat store bought??? YUCK!!!

@hestia, a certain portion of any group subject to repression will take a florid, in your face, approach. as a matter of fact, repression generates that attitude where it otherwise would probably not exist. in 10 to 20 years when full civil rights are in place, and we've walked around in them for a while, i'll bet the popularity drops off. seen many marches to selma lately?

I beg to differ about the tea tree oil----It is anti bacterial, anti fungal, anti viral, I keep it with me at all times and use it for many things----It beats the heck out of skin drying hand sanitizer which can give a fales sense of security re: germs and leave skin so dry and cracked you are vulnerable to infection. It also beats the heck out of so many antibacterial soaps which most bacteria are now immune to. Don't forget the government said DDT was safe.

i agree with you on the antibacterial stuff (alcohol w/ thickeners)...it cracks your hands more allowing for germs to enter more easily. i use hot soap and water.

Don't use hot water; use warm water. Hot water crack the skin as well, and most of the germ-killing comes from the friction of washing, not the temperature of the water.

Emmi - tea tree oil is 100% safe. There are only a few essential oils that should be stayed away from, and even those when severely diluted can still be used. It's not the "strong essential oils" that are the problem, it's the man-made, non-regulated chemicals that are the problem. Period.

Thumbs up literfairy----most people don't understand that soap by definition is antibacterial and it is the scrubbing that removes the germs and dirt.

Beg all you want, Lex, but tea tree oil, even when used sparingly as an antiseptic, can adversely affect males, young and old. And it can being on early puberty symptoms in little girls. Just because is is okay for adult women doesn't mean it is for others. It is a toxic substance that even in moderate concentrations can induce allergies and other adverse reactions. The critical factor is diluting the concentration/toxicity in order to achieve antiseptic properties but don't harm the host in more insidious ways. That means regulation of this and other such substances, which is non-existent.

I beg to differ about the tea tree oil----It is anti bacterial, anti fungal, anti viral, I keep it with me at all times and use it for many things

Tea Tree oil is very dangerous for young boys - causes them to grow boobs...

http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jan2007/niehs-31.htm

Tea tree oil is safe. Ya'll are off your heads. Would love to see where you get your information from.

Wow, OhioGirl... Thanks for that link. That's freaky, and it's not just some green-loving organo-alarmist worrymongering, it's a government-backed study. Yikes.

Not that I have a problem with organic everything. Freakin' endocrine disruptors or mimics everywhere you look, from soy to BGH milk to grain-heavy diets, and BPA in food cans and (older) nalgene bottles.

actually, soap is antibacterial because it makes water "wetter" by removing the "skin" on the water. This is how soap works, and the same reason it makes water more effective in cleaning is the reason it makes it effective at killing micro-organisms. The scrubbing part helps, but scrubbing your hands with water alone would be very ineffective in killing bacteria.

actually, soap is antibacterial because it makes water "wetter" by removing the "skin" on the water.

wow, you're not wrong, but I've never heard it explained that way before. I'll have to remember that if/when I'm ever struggling to explain surface tension to younger students :)

interesting....you are pointing to things we do to ourselves, that have no real use other than cosmetic.

Cracks me up....folks want to put chemicals on themselves to increase attractiveness, use chemicals to make life easier so when can spend more time on the couch, require tons of resources to be extracted per per per day to fuel our bling addiction....then we compain about and say others should be protecting us. Every issue discussed on this board is in control of the person....try not using the products, trying putting down your cell phone and be involved with your own (precieved) risks.

I live in Chicago...my biggest risk is now cell phone drivers......every night going home they are weaving down the road texting..."be five minutes late honey"...."where you at"....smack ! Hormones, shmormones !!

End of rant.

An excellent article. Thanks for sharing!

I work with a guy named ' Micheal '. So you are not so smart are you, when its a name you can spell it however you want to. and i think there is a 's' missing from yours -disgusted

disgusted...What I've noticed is all of the additives in food is making men bullies. They drive bully boy trucks intended to kill anyone on the road, walk around with a smirk, push, shove and generally have lost all sense of class. Women hate bullies. The real problem is a generation of kids raised in daycare. Enter the Daycare Generation. Kids who never bonded from 6 weeks old, never knew what staying in their home all day is like and had to fight for attention from among a slew of other infants and toddlers. How would this not turn them into bullies as they grew older?

My grandson's name is Micheal.

Daycare/preschool settings are actually very beneficial for children. I worked in a daycare, and it was a 1:4 ratio of teacher to students. The children learn appropriate social behavior from an early age. The student I had the most issues with was one who had JUST been introduced to children her age, having only been around her adult family. A loving, kind family, but she simply couldn't interact socially on the same level as the other children. Studies prove that.

It may not be common knowledge but the reason steroids cause rage is not due to testosterone - it's estrogen.

When testosterone levels spike, estrogen levels also spike for physiological reasons I won't bore you with. This can be due to puberty, steroids, or hormones in your food.

Eventually the steroid user's estrogen levels SURPASS whatever level of testosterone is being ingested causing a WICKED CASE OF MALE PMS.

It's like a your period - on steroids.

That's why informed steroid users cycle steroids to allow their bodies to recover and use drugs to supress the rising levels of estrogen but even then they are bound to be tempermental once in a while.

ewent,

I agree about the children not getting the attention they need from their parents at an early age being the reason they are bullies. But that isn't all in part to day care. I see kids that spend 24 hours a day with their parents and their parents still ignore them, yell at them, don't take time out for them, etc.

My son is two and we give him all the attention in the world. We rarely have to even raise our voices to him because he has all the attention he needs in order to not feel like he needs to seek attention through bad behaviour. Not saying he doesn't misbehave, he is after all two, but it is in the way we handle the situation with positive and constructive confrontation that makes it better discipline. But if you were to look at my friends kid for example, he was with her up until he started kindergarten and he is a big bully and just an all out BRAT. She tells him to shut up all the time, threatens to smack him in the face, laughs when he swears, and buys him everything he wants just to shut him up. This is why kids are acting this way because of parents like this, not because of day care.

@ewent: "The real problem is a generation of kids raised in daycare. Enter the Daycare Generation. Kids who never bonded from 6 weeks old, never knew what staying in their home all day is like and had to fight for attention from among a slew of other infants and toddlers. How would this not turn them into bullies as they grew older?"

Wow, I greatly disagree with this statement. I don't think the problem is childcare itself. The right childcare can be a great place to foster social development, sharing & problem solving. There are a lot of bonuses to kids getting out of the house and being around a group of children their own age. It comes down to the parents - no sense in diverting the blame to an outside source. If that child isn't bonding with the parent, there's likely a deeper issue than just sending them to daycare. I've had two is part time childcare up through preschool, and they're both very well-adjusted, intelligent & well-manned children. You can't place blame on a whole establishment when circumstances may be different in each case.

Actually, godaddy,

That isn't entirely accurate, estrogen is actually made from the circulating testosterone in the body by an enzyme called aromatase. As men age, they tend to make increasing levels of estrogen with decreased production of testosterone, which is why the estrogen level rises, not because estrogen is rising to meet testosterone.

No it happens due to rising levels of testosterone. Any time testosterone spike estrogen also spikes.

Of course if you consume estrogen directly it wouldn't matter.

Men get gyno in puberty due to rising levels of testosterone that causes aromatization. Test ain't falling in puberty.

Steroid users have the same problem.

Nice try but you're all wet.

Heidi wasn't precisely disagreeing with you, godaddy. She's saying that the estrogen rises along with the testosterone because the testosterone is being turned INTO estrogen by the aromatase. It makes a lot of sense that an abnormal spike in testosterone levels (from steroids) would be followed by a spike in estrogen because of that enzyme.

So your "roid-rage-caused-by-male-pms" theory is actually supported by what she said. She's not all wet, she's on your side.

Disgusted - really, you are going to tell someone they don't know how to spell their own name. It can be spelled either Micheal or Michael, heck, I know of someone who spells it Mychal.

personally, I think that parents who coddle their children and DON'T take them to a daycare to learn to socialize are the ones who end up back home at the age of 25, not having the social development to go out on their own. That isn't to say that kids should be ignored by their parents, just that most of the cases I see where the parents smother their children with attention end up worse off than those parents who work for a living and have to send their kids to daycare. Obviously in both cases you can have a parent who is not really there for the child.

There is an employee here who had to work very hard to have a child, and she has spent every second of her time with her son attending to his every need, and at the age of 6 he will throw massive fits at daycare, forcing her mother to come pick him up because he "misses" her. It always a matter of not enough attention from the parents, it is all too often a matter of too much attention from the parents.

Bullying is also usually learned from the parent. Schools inadvertently encourage bullying with their policy of not letting the kids handle the issue. Teaching a kid to run to the nearest adult does nothing to teach them what to do when THEY are the adult. Where do you run the day you graduate high school and find yourself in a situation you don't have the tools to handle? The police? HAH. Police are there to handle things AFTER they occur, not before or during. If you can't learn to handle yourself when presented with a confrontation, you will fail and the bully will win, every time.

I once worked with a "Micheal." His name was spelled incorrectly on his birth certificate and he never changed it.

I had a friend named michael...he was jewish and when we called him mike his mom got mad as hell and scolded us!

getalifevirginia...I think you hit the nail on the head here. The worst example of what mothers are doing to their little girls is that hideous show Toddlers and Tiaras. Little girls with an attention span of less than 30 minutes having to be abused just to wear a Little Miss Who Cares crown on her tiny little head while Mommy dresses her in high heels and fishnet stockings?

Sex has been around for millions of years. An obsession? I don't think so. Look at the 70's free love era. We are lot more Victorian than we used to be. Over-exposure? Possibly. It doesn't mean you don't discuss it with your children. Doesn't matter what era your from, if you don't discuss sex with your kids - someone else will. You can't hide from it. And did you just suggest parent's are trying to make their 3 year olds look sexy? That's pretty sick. Sure, there may be some who participate in modeling and such, but to infer that this country has an obsession with making 3 year olds look sexy - you're crazy. I have a little girl and many many friends with girls, and none of them have pushed their to look sexy.

Quit watching too much tv.

I would be shocked if dressing a child provocatively somehow turned her estrogen production on earlier. After all, children should biologically be running around naked all day long but still wouldn't sexually mature until much older. It's more likely related to diet and activity levels.

literfairy...When you listen to these toddlers on Toddlers and Tiaras speak, you think you're listening to an adult. So, if they are mentally more mature, their bodies catch up as well. What disgusts me most are the Moms pushing these little girls so hard and then claiming it's what "she" wants. BS. It's what Mom always wanted and so she lives vicariously through her daughter.

Trying to make a three year old look sexy is not going to make her boobs grow and start having acne. Unless of course the parents way of making the girl look sexy is a boob implant. That is all psychological not physical. I won't argue that psychology can affect physiology because it can but I doubt to extent where girls are getting breats at 7 and their bones are developed two years ahead of their age.

If you read the story the mother was upset about this and actually had her daught implanted with something to stop it from happening. Had this woman been concerned with her child looking sexy she would have not gone to that measure.

ewent,

Just because a girl dresses like a hooker at the age of 5 doesn't mean they are going to look like a grown hooker at the age of 10. It has nothing to do with the way they dress or act.

Could the cause be this country's obsession with sex and parents trying to make girls as young as 3 years old look sexy?

no

While I think parents who force their children into these lifestyles should be charged with some type child abuse, I seriously doubt it has anything to do with girls hitting puberty at a younger age. The percent of young girls being forced into these competitions is not great enough to explain this epidemic across all young girls.

Getalifevirginia, you are so right these kids (girls) are pushed into wearing ADULT clothes, make-up and hait styles and we wonder why we have younger girls having sex. I am told all the time that I should let my girls (11 and 14) wear what they want but call me old fashion but you aren't walking out of my house with a micro mini skirt or you butt crack showing I put a dress code on my kids on school days they wear jeans that aren't skinny legged or low cut and a t-shirt, I am asked why and here is the reason they need to learn to respect their body and learn modesty hopefully when they are adults they will have enough respect to continue dressing modestly.

Tubaturtle, you are so right. And to those who are calling you old-fashioned, ask them - and it begs the question for the rest of the country - do you really love children?

John383...Or, it could be that Americans have no real idea what all of the imported goods we use with ferocity have in them? Can we say with certainty whether the foreign countries from whom we buy our veggies and fruits are compliant with our American FDA standards?

Ewent - it depends on where you get the food from. European countries tend to be much less chimicaly oriented than we are (they are fussing about our genetically altered crops and the hormones and chemicals in our meats). Mexico, however is not nearly as strict - but as far as I know they don't bother to chemically bombard their foods to the degree that we have. But you seem to merely be trying to minimize our culpability (after all if it's American it can't be bad - right)? I don't know of any other country who is so enamoured of the process of chemicaly altering foods as we are.

@ ewent

I hope that was sarcasm.

Our FDA allows our food to be radiated. Ever since they started doing this I noticed that certain foods rot much faster than they used to. More often than not strawberries at the grocery stores are usually rotting while a portion is still not fully ripe.

So much for their strict standards, kind of like their standards for experimental drug approval. Oh, wait, most of the people in the FDA go to work for the drug companies and vice versa.

The world is no less safe than it was 50 years ago, the media just makes it seem like it is. Crime rates have been on the decline for many years.

Steve is right, actually crime in this country is probably about the same as it was 50 years ago. There was just less media coverage. The reason prisons are so over run is because of mediocre crap like marijuana and the so called war on drugs, which is really just a war on pot. I myself have never touched the stuff but my husband is facing losing his financial aid and having to quit school because he was caught with a joint. A joint, not a bag, he wasn't trafficking. He has really bad arthritis in his knees and infact has to have them scoped yearly and he chose to smoke a joint instead of popping 50 percocets and now he is facing losing everything he has worked up to in school. This is why the crime rate looks so bad, because in this day and age we are ciminals for everything we do.

Yes but what you'er ignoring is that people used to leave their doors open. and trust each other.

Now nobody trusts anybody. I don't even want to look at a kid for fear I'll be called a pedo.

So our vigilance has doubled and yet the same number of victims.

I'm not sure I believe the statistics.

All I know is that when I was kid, we all played outside without adult supervision until mom turned on the porch light at night -- our signal that it was time come inside. No one's mom would have been able to say exactly where their kid was at 3 pm on a summer afternoon -- just somewhere in the neighborhood, playing with their friends.

Would any of you allow that today?

DrD - I too believe that part of the problem with early onset puberty is merely a natural progression - much as the fact that the average height has steadily increased over time. However, I think that placing the blame for this change primarily on this natural progression is the gross oversimplification.

We know empirically the effect that many of the chemicals in our food and medicines have on our bodies. What we don't know is what accumulative effect ever increasing exposure to these chemicals on a daily basis will have. The problem is not merely with hormones, but with chemicals that may be the cause of the ever increasing rates of chronic conditions such as asthma and allergies - which themselves may be underlying causes or contributing factors of other health problems. Chemicals in our food (and some processed food in general) have also been implicated (directly and indirectly) in conditions such as obesity, ADHD, increased auto-immune responses, and many other conditions - though more study is needed at this point to pin down the actual mechanisms by which these effects take place.

The attitude which we have held so long that bombarding our bodies with all of these chemicals will have little to no effect simply is not logical. When we see what a huge effect that even small variances of naturally occurring chemicals can have on our bodies (i.e. vitamins, minerals, hormones, phytochemicals etc.), why do we stubbornly hold to the notion that huge amounts of man-made chemicals will not effect us at all?

Janet and all, Cows milk is for baby cows!!! Period. Dont forget the processed cheese that fills fast food and quick fix products. Personally, I dont consume anything from cows' milk and very little cow meat. Just a personal choice. The dairy industry is just that--a business!!!

The worse part is that people think we should give our kids the milk I still nurse my 15 month old and I can't tell you how often I am told that my son needs to stop nursing he should be weaned by now why don't I just give him a glass of milk instead, well first of all that is what womens boobs are for just because we have formula doesn't mean I have to use it I saved 100's of dollars on not giving him the formula and you know what I have the peace of mind knowing I am not putting crap in his system.

I do not advocate adults eating large amounts of dairy. But one of the most immediate differences between organic and inorganic products can be tasted in differerences of the dairy products.

For sure. We are becoming a more and more sex-oriented culture. Surely this has direct and indirect effects on the timing of physical sexual development.

scotty and seank, I want some of whatever it is you're smoking.

It's not clear to me how sexual promiscuity on TV is making 7-year-olds grow boobs. However, if you are letting your 7-year-olds watch R-rated TV, you do have a problem....

Time to beam you up SCOTTY. There's no intelligent life in your skull.

It doesn't cause breast development but it does cause your daughter to grow up to be a slut.

The sad thing is if you send your kids to public schools, let them watch tv or leave the house they will be exposed to sex at an early age whether you like it or not.

I don't think that was necessarily the case 40 years ago.

I know every generation thinks the next one is degenerate but I think that's the cycle that societys go through.

Birth > Growth > Peak > Decadence > Decay

I would say our civilization is in a state of decay and the emphasis on sex is simply a sign of that.

Look at the Roman empire's decline and the moral decay is the same as ours.

torchum, as funny as that was, it was uncalled for. Scotty is not the only one on here who has posed that question.

As for you question Scotty, while understandable that you would ask it, scientifically it is not provable to say there is a correlation between premature sex and premature puberty.

Another thing to consider is that if your daughter is 11 years old and has double ds she's going to be the girl the more precocious boys are going to have sex with.

Even when I was a kid I heard about girls 12 or 13 years old getting pregnant and they were all early bloomers.

How about the increased exposure to casual sex and promiscuity in the media and in society in general playing a role in this phenomenon!

again, no. Are you people serious?

It doesn't cause breast development but it does cause your daughter to grow up to be a slut.

also not true necessarily. France is far more lenient of sex and sexuality in media and film, and yet your French girls don't grow up to be "sluts" any more so than girls anywhere else.

Not saying their entirely disconnected, just that seeing sex on TV at a young age will not turn young women into "sluts" (but bad parenting can!).

I wonder where all of the people are today who like to say that no matter what the parents do, a child can still be a 'bad apple'? (Not that I beleive them.)

The biggest culprit in this is Chicken. Brazil has had this problem much longer than us as they have not been as strict in controlling their poultry industry in stopping growth hormones well before slaughter so it works out of the system in the poultry that goes to market. So if there is a propensity for higher consumption of certain types of foods there will be such a differentiation. There are other contributing factors but this is most probably the critical one similar to the situation in Brazil.

Thats just a little racist

jkimberly,

Why is it racist? SB was using Brazil as a country and their control of poultry as an example. He was not saying anything about the Brazilian people themselves.

SB,

I will ask why you use Brazil as example for your poultry argument. There are plenty of other countries that eat more poultry than red meat, why Brazil in particular?

Brazil wasn't the racist part. The original question was why early puberty was more prevalent in Black girls as opposed to white. The answer given was chicken suggesting Black people eat more chicken feeding into the the stereotype. Brazil had nothing to do with it

LOL - jkimberly - I think you are reading a bit to much into this. I think that it was more likely a bad coincidence. However, there are health and government studies that do indeed support that supposition - just do a google search. However there was a study that I found which stated that estrogen levels in Brazilian chicken meat was essentially zero (or below that which would be considered natural).

I find that interesting since I was a 34B by the time i was 9 and had my period by 8 1/2. I hated milk and refused to drink it. Always have, always will. I was coaxed as a child to drink it. My parents had to put coffee, strawberry or chocolate flavoring in it to get me to even drink a few ounces. Even then, I wouldnt drink hardly any. I preferred juices.

Fruit and vegetable juices would have been a much heathier beverage standard instead of the media-endorsed milk.

For any one who wants a complete milk + non-dairy substitute = Silken brand soy milk.

Her breast buds disappeared when you switched her to ogranics milk?

Modern Americans are heavier and *taller* than ever before. Do you want to give up some height?

Recycled - Come on - no one is saying that early onset puberty has never happened in the history of man. What is being talked about is the prevalence with which it is happening now as opposed to the past. And you are fully aware of that. I remember as a kid the huge breasts of a cousin of mine at the age of 13 and wondering why in the hell there weren't any non-related girls around that even came close.

Consider the most common beverages of 1950 and before : milk, coffee and water.

Rick-525236, obviously you didnt understand what I was saying. I got my period at 8 1/2 yrs of age and to have a 34B cup at 9 yrs of age when my mother literally dragged me into tourains dept store for my 1st bra, obviously I "budded" before it began. I also stated that my mother got hers at 9 yrs of age. I also stated my daughters got theirs at ~ 11 to 12 yrs of age, but that was because my husband was of English/Irish blood lines (which I feel mixed with my Italian blood lines). All my friends had theirs by freshman year in high school (13), but most of my friends got theirs 2 years after I did, in 6th grade.

All because a girl "buds" and gets her period doesnt mean her body has fully matured. Yes, when I was 13 and size 36C and size 7, I had a nice shape and looked "grown up", but between 13 and 21, my body continued to "mature" into adulthood.

As for the "prevalence" of it happening now, look at our society. It is no longer merely White Anglo Saxon bloodlines dominating it. I must admit, marrying one has somewhat tempered the "maturing" process in my offspring, but that wasnt why I married him. When you see us women down here at 5'2", know we were early bloomers and when you see men over 5'9", know that they were too. When puberty begins, growth slows down.

I am not saying that the antibiotics, birth control, etc dumped into our waste waters arent exaberating the natural, human condition of genetics combined with nutrition, BUT, genetics and nutrition do rule over most enviornmental factors. Usually when enviornmental factors play into changes within the body causing it to "adapt", it is through genetic mutations over at least 1 generation.

Good thing I didn't know this when I was 13 - I would have been so jealous for not living in the part of the country that you did - LOL. I do agree that a if this runs in a family then it is not unusual; but Recycled, if this were normal in these families, it would not be so shocking to the mothers.

I disagree with you about health problems caused by chemicals needing generations to become obvious. Environmentally caused health problems do not need to be passed on through genetics. Look at the many warnings on chemicals (medicines) that are not to be used while a women is pregnant, or while a child is young. Look at the health problems experienced by people in highly polluted environments - the illnesses are obvious because the pollution was major. Less pollution would cause less obvious health problems; but not necessarily no problems whatsoever. When small amounts of chemicals (vitamins, minerals, hormones, etc.) can make such a big difference in our health, why do we assume that flooding our bodies with other chemicals will have absolutely no effect whatsoever? Especially for those chemicals that may be stored in body fat. We are not talking about the human body's "adapting" here. Nor are we talking about traits that will necessarily be passed down to the next generation. A bodily change that is not caused by a genetic mutation is not likely to passed down to the next generation. There are chemicals in the food we eat, and the plastics we store food in that act as hormones - or against hormones, why do we think these chemicals effect a child any differently than giving them small doses of medications that do the exact same thing? There are to many instances where we know that exposure to something will cause illness, why do we assume that exposure to other things will be completely harmless? When harmful levels of chemicals are set, those levels are set for exposure to that chemical only - in isolation of any other chemical contaminants; however, our bodies are constantly bombarded by many different chemicals at once. Just for a simple analogy - say you are wanting to take HRT - you find out the safe levels of the different types - then you take the maximum safe amount of each type all at once - everyday. So what do you think is going to happen to you? But hey, you you only took a safe amount of each med. I think I am beating a dead horse at this point. If you don't get it - I don't know how to make my POV any clearer.

That's a great idea. But I wonder if her early puberty would have also stopped it they switched to a milk that didn't contain rBst.

There IS enough land to grow organic for everyone, but you cannot grow monocultures. Organic farming can be just as or more productive than what we call traditional farming. What's funny about that is that organic farming is the way all farming happened until this century, so organic farming should be traditional farming.

Jetjocky...I'd "almost" agree with you except that you'd also have to explain why kids speak at a speed of lightening, why they have no patience for anything that takes longer than 1 minute to accomplish and have absolutely no intentions of concentrating on a single thing when they can drive a car, text and multitask to their hearts content.

Again, grow up in formative years in daycare and you learn this kind of rapid fire regimentation from the daycare people who have no time to focus on the individual and only the masses.

There is enough on this earth for every man's NEED

But never enough for one man's GREED (Mahatma Gandhi)

Our esteemed corporations are on the tear trying to find anything that will enrich them instantly and so are constantly looking for ways to enhance the bottom line. At least the US of A has plenty of resources land wise to grow as much wholesome safe food as it requires and then some. All we have to do is adjust our demands perhaps eat a little less but better quality.

SB - that was back when the world population was 2 billion.

It is now 6+ billion and headed quickly toward 9 billion.

Greed is an ugly component to global corporations viewing every creature that breathes as merely a quantifiable new consumer. However, even a phool knows we need widespread birth control and fewer humans everywhere, unless one doesn't give a rat's backside about quality of life or has a myopic view of human nature, which ain't pretty. No one makes people in every country crave dime store crap from the WalMarts of the world. But it inevitably happens whenever any groups of people rise above a certain level of poverty. Demand = supply. Change human nature and you'll change the world for the better. Good luck with that. Or we could simply aim lower to change human carelessness and ignorance that results in masses of human litters destined for misery and death (or to be marketed to death). It's not as if we are the most attractive, beneficial species on Earth - or even the nicest. Those opposable thumbs have allowed our superior brains to start going in the opposite direction.

ewent,

You missed my response to your daycare theory, or just chose to not take anyone elses views but your own into consideration. Children naturally have short attention spans. This has nothing to do with daycare, it has to do with their physical development.

Jetjockey - sorry, but that is nonsense. Europe does not raise or import meats grown with hormones - I don't remember hearing of their rioting in the streets over food shortages.

Yes, population growth needs to be reduced; however that has absolutely nothing to do with our bombarding our bodies uneccesarily with all of these chemicals.

Studies have been done that have shown that there is more than enough food for everyone in the world. Many do not get enough food because of distribution problems.

There is enough because of modern practices that increase productivity per acre, less loss of foods to insects, genetic hybrids that increase productivity per acre, and changes in animal husbandry that produces faster weight gains in healthier animals with less loss due to sickness. Which factor would we change and still have enough food? Maybe the solution is not throw away the methods that allow present population levels so much as methods to ensure any hormones etc. are not present at time of harvest? Just throwing a bit of reality into the discussion.

literfairy wrote "There IS enough land to grow organic for everyone,"

Organic farming costs more and requires more energy to transport more spoiled food. There is more waste associated with organic farming. Farming at the beginning of the century only needed to feed a population of 75 million (1900). What changes are needed to feed a population of 270 million (2010)? Growth projections for 2050 are roughly 400 Million.

There is enough land to grow organic. Just look at the wide open spaces in the middle of nowhere.

Productive land? Land that can be farmed without modern practises? If it was productive it would already be utilized. A lot of that land (unsuited for crop production) was put into farming early in the 1900's and the dust bowl resulted. Empty land does not mean unutilized land, just it may not be suited for crops etc.

Dennis - Your specious argument simply doesn't hold water. I would venture to say that the vast majority of American land east fo the Mississippi is suitable for farming. And I would also venture to say that much of the land east of the Rockies would probably be suitable with little more than the addition of water. Your assertion that farming was the cause of the dust bowl is patently ridiculous - droughts happen regardless of whether or not the land is being farmed. Our crop yield may have increased over the years; but the amount of land being utilized for farming has steadily decreased as the family farmers are falling under the pressure of trying to compete with Agribusinesses. So again we don't have a surplus of food because of all of the chemicals being used - that surplus would still be there without our modern practices if the cost/price ratio of crops were not artificially deflated.

Sarah, of course foreign countries use the same growing techniques as the US does. The practices are used wherever agribusiness sees the need to increase production by shortening growing cycles, and that includes bio-engineered vegetable and grain crops.

I agree that the hormones, anti-biotics, etc., given to animals are ultimately unhealthy for humans. My father started growing "organic" beef in the mid 1960's because, as he said, "I don't want my family eating from a medicine cabinet." He realized then that "you are what you eat."

By the way -- it affects boys, too. My eldest son began puberty at a little younger than 10. His doctor was adament that the cause was hormones in milk.

Other countries don't waste money on bottled water. Perhaps it's the bottled water.

mel- You are completly wrong!!! The European Union has had a ban on meat raised with growth hormones in place for years - Because at least 17 of their studies showed it to be harmful to people's health. There is also a ban in many countries on genetically modified food and seed.

As for the rest of your post - I have no argument.

Good post Tucker... on point!

My daughter, has a typical American diet and she is just now developing breasts at age 11. Not even enough to warrant a training bra but she insists on having one because her friends do. She hasn't shown any other signs of puberty than that. Which makes your point that organic vegetarianism is moot.

From my point of view, the Vegans I know look sickly. Skin color does not look normal, more of a sickly pale color. They seem to be too thin and underweight too. No muscle mass. I've seen families who consume nothing but soy based foods and they have problems with thier daughters entering puberty way too early. Boys also have developed femimine characteristics such as enlarged breasts and smaller muscle mass by consuming soy products. I'm not putting down being vegan or consuming soy based products, but I do suggest that in order to be completely healthy the vegan should eat some meats, fish and pork to suppliment thier diet. But avoid meats, fish and pork that are raised with growth hormones and go organic when possible.

All natural foods available should be consumed in moderation and you should not have a strict vegan diet but should be mixed with a small portion of meats in order to maintain a healthy body. We humans were not designed to be pure vegetarians because certain proteins cannot be produced by plants. Yes Scientist claim to have found alternatives, but these alternatives are not a direct subsitute for meats and only have short term gains.

Still, it has also been proven that the adult human only needs one (1) gram of protein a week.

The argument the people are not intended to eat meat is absolutely ridiculous; all you have to do is look to our teeth to know that we are supposed to eat meat, this is why we have canine teeth rather than all flat teeth.

As for adult humans only needing one gram of protein, I am curious as to where you heard that. I ask because I just saw my dr because I suffer from hypoglycemia; she told me the reason it has been acting up so much is because I do not eat enough protein, which is what the body uses as a long term energy source. I was actually told I should be eating 5 or 6 small meals a day, all with protein. In fact, I just went to a website (indoorclimbing.com) that said an adult female who stands 5'7" should eat 1 ounce of protein daily to maintain a healthy weight.

Hypoglycemic problems do require eating 5-6 small meals a day. I can not make a reference; but it seems strange that every single one of those meals should include animal protein.

Looking a little further into your claim that adults need only one gram of protein a week, the most conservative estimate I found was 1 oz, or 28 grams daily, most put it at 46-60 grams or 1.5 - 2.15 oz per day. Failure to eat the proper levels of protein will result in your body breaking down your own muscle for energy.

I would agree with the poster concerning a strict vegetable diet. The sickliest individuals I know have been those who do not eat meat products. Humanity is meant to eat both. I would agree the typical modern diet is heavy on meat, but that doesnt mean as a species it should be eliminated from diet. As for soy products: There was a study done that Soy should not be fed to babies (in formula for instance) as it is a natural estrogen and effects male growth (possibly female as well?)

Heidi-1708607
"My daughter, has a typical American diet and she is just now developing breasts at age 11. ... Which makes your point that organic vegetarianism is moot."

No. Didn't you learn about averages in school? The point of the article is that the average age of puberty is dropping. How does one girl on a typical American diet refuter that?