Obesity, increased consumption of animal protein causes early puberty in children – Expert

A Medical Practitioner, Dr. Arikawe Adeolu, on Wednesday said childhood obesity and increased consumption of animal protein were responsible for increasing population of children attaining early puberty.
Adeolu, who works at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that exposure to some chemicals like pesticides could also cause early puberty.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia says: Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child’s body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction.
“It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy.”
According to Adeolu, a generation ago, children attained puberty mostly from age 11, but currently, children attained puberty as early as eight years or below.
He said: “The usual average age of puberty was about 11 to 12 years, but now we have children as little as eight and nine years attaining puberty because we have more obese children.
“If a girl-child is obese, there is an increased chance that she may begin puberty earlier compared to those who are slim.
“The fat cells have the ability to produce a type of estrogen and this estrogen can initiate the process of puberty that is why we have early puberty in girls.
“In fact, it has been shown that there is a level of fat one should have in order to have a normal menstrual cycle that is why some persons who are slim may have irregular menstruation.
“This is because the fat is not there to augment the production of estrogen from the ovaries.”
The expert also identified increased consumption of animal protein, mainly from meat and dairy products, as another cause of early puberty in children.
Adeolu also said frequent exposure to some chemicals, especially the pesticides, could be responsible for early puberty.
According to him, these chemicals have been grouped under what is called endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
“The chemical disturbed the hormonal balance of the body and can be seen in plastic bottles and other plastics used in wrapping fast foods,” Adeolu said.
NAN.