The colleague’s son thought his mother’s colorful tufts of hair were beautiful. Now she asks, “Mom, don’t you look normal?” When parents suddenly become “annoying,” their children are probably teenagers.
This is when the body produces more sex hormones: estrogen and progesterone in girls and testosterone in boys. This causes physical and psychological changes. Mood changes are normal – as is the need to distance yourself from your parents. Externally, pubic hair develops in both sexes. Girls’ breasts grow, followed by menstruation. The boys’ voices crack, their testicles and penises grow, and they ejaculate for the first time.
One year before
All of this is happening today at a younger age than in the past. One study showed that in 2013, puberty in girls began almost a year earlier, on average, than in 1977. Boys also tend to reach puberty earlier, although the study results are not as clear as those for girls.
It was only in the 19th century that young women in Europe had their first period at the age of 17.while in the early 1960s about 13 years. Today, the average in Germany is 12.8 years, reports Bettina Golke, head of the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology (KEDAS) at the University Hospital Bonn in Germany.
Rising standards of living could have played a role in this development. Under better conditions, offspring can grow up sooner. “However, puberty does not begin with the first menstruation, but with the development of the breasts”, emphasizes the scientist.
But why has that time advanced by about a year in just four decades? There are several reasons for this and not all of them can be clearly demonstrated.
Obesity in the era of the corona virus?
The research showed that overweight children enter puberty earlier. In adipose tissue, more messenger substance leptin is produced and this signals the brain to begin puberty.
The fact that children move less and gain weight may be one reason why significantly more girls have gone through early puberty during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s about the development of external sexual characteristics in girls before the age of eight and in boys before the age of nine.
“In addition, the whole lifestyle changed, like the day-night rhythm, children had more psychosocial stress and spent more time on the computer – and blue light, as animal studies have shown, has an effect on hormones.
What is the effect of chemicals on adolescence?
Scientists suspect that chemicals in our environment affect puberty. For example, the pesticide DDT has been shown to lead to early onset of menstruation. Substances found in personal care products, such as phthalates, parabens and other phenols, are also suspected that cause earlier puberty, especially in girls.
The global trend to start increasingly precocious puberty has developed in such a short time that it cannot be explained by genetic changes.
However, it is unclear exactly which substances are responsible for this. And this is because: “There are well over 100 different substances that could be potential causes, as animal experiments have shown – and we are exposed to a whole range of substances.’ Furthermore, there is always the question of dose: an amount that is still considered harmless in animal experiments could certainly have effects on children.
Lavender oil and soy milk have an effect
Essential oils can also affect hormones – and therefore the onset of puberty. For example, girls and boys have experienced early breast development after using lavender products. Laboratory tests have shown that 65 essential oils contain certain substances that have a hormonal effect on human cells. Breast growth slowed in all children when flavored products were discontinued.
Soy products also have a hormonal effect. Soy contains so-called phytoestrogens, that is, plant substances, which are similar to the human hormone estrogen – just like beer.
Its effect on the onset of puberty has not yet been proven. However, In one study, women who were fed soy protein as babies reported significantly longer periods and more severe menstrual problems. The German Society for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine therefore, we advise against giving babies a soy-based diet as a standard.
Only children go through puberty earlier
And something else appears to affect the onset of puberty: On average, only children go through puberty earlier than children with siblings, half-siblings, or half-siblings, a Danish study shows. One explanation could beI that during the transmission of family genes, Only children cannot count on siblings – so their body prefers to rely on its own reproductive capacity at a young age.
Source: Deutsche Welle