Precocious Puberty

Another disturbing health study made headlines this past week. Researchers concluded that girls are reaching puberty earlier than ever - as early as 7 years old! Breast development was used as the diagnostic which means that the examiners were basically measuring FAT. Adipose tissue (aka. FAT) makes up the bulk of the female breast and is a source of estrogen in the body. It is also a medical fact that overweight girls have more insulin circulating in their blood which stimulates the production of hormones in the ovaries and adrenal glands.

Is this early puberty scare really news? No. Didn't we already know that kids are fatter than ever and obesity is affecting young & younger children? The CDC has been following the trend for over 20 years and the media hasn't failed to notice it either. Fat kids, both boys and girls, grow breasts before reaching puberty because the human body just naturally deposits excess fat on the chest and buttocks (T&A, you know?).

Besides, Time Magazine published a thorough article entitled "Teens Before Their Time" in 2000 which discussed this very issue and presented several interesting theories to explain it. Aside from the most obvious one - consumption of meat laden with hormones, the authors suggest that chemicals like PCBs and DDE, a derivatives of the pesticide DDT, are wrecking havoc on children's reproductive systems. BPA (Bisphenol-A) and other chemicals used to make plastics flexible were also mentioned as possible culprits. A cluster of Puerto Rican girls in the 1980s who grew breasts and pubic hair as young as 2 years was attributed to phthalates. Since then, even more scientific evidence has demonstrated that BPA can mimic estrogen in vivo and the potential dangers have been made ever more public. U.S. citizens are outraged that BPA is still being used in baby bottles and food packaging (a recent investigation revealed suprisingly high concentrations of BPA in 92% of the canned food samples tested); yet in their usual fashion, the Senate has failed to ban it.

So you go out and buy a "BPA-free" baby bottle to safeguard your child. Think you've spared her exposure to estrogen? Think again. What's inside the bottle? Despite the the health food hype, soy is not a wonder food and not appropriate grub for infants. Nevertheless, soy formula is routinely given to infants who are presumed allergic to dairy (and distributed for free through the WIC program.) Studies have shown that the phytoestrogens have the potential to cause infertility and promote breast cancer in adults. Soy can also cause hypothyroidism, which leads to sluggish metabolism and weight gain. The dose of isoflavones consumed by an itty-bitty baby sucking on a bottle can be quite significant. A toxicologist in New Zealand estimated that an infant exclusively fed soy formula receives the equivalent of five birth control pills per day.

If that doesn't help your daughter grow a cup size or two, then why not try Chinese baby formula? Mothers in Beijing have reported breast development in their one year olds after they gave them a milk-based formula from the company Synutra. The Chinese Ministry of Health is of course denying any link between the formula and the families' claims. Parents are not satisfied with health authorities declarations and don't know who to trust. Even parents of children who have no outward symptoms are taking their infants to the doctor to be evaluated (would that be a pediatrician or gynecologist?)

No one knows who or what to blame. All I can say is that we've created a perfect storm of food ingredients, plastic packaging and environmental pollution that's threatening the healthy development of our children. Kind of reminds me of The Incredible Shrinking Women (1981). Remember the movie in which Lily Tomlin starts shrinking from a multiple chemical sensitivity - the combination of personal care products, household cleaners and perfumes? In today's real-world case, the victims are young, they're growing out of control and it ain't very pretty nor funny.