Girls who eat a healthy diet may be less likely to start puberty early, study suggests
Girls who grow up eating a healthier diet than their peers may be less likely to get their first menstrual periods at an earlier age — regardless of height or body mass index — a new study suggests.
Girls who grow up eating a healthier diet than their peers may be less likely to get their first menstrual periods at an earlier age — regardless of height or body mass index — a new study suggests.
Though previous research has tied height and BMI to the earlier onset of menarche, or first period, the study, published Tuesday in the journal Human Reproduction, claims to be the first to explore the biological milestone’s link to specific diets.
Girls typically begin puberty — marked by acne, growth spurts, breast development and the growth of body and pubic hair — anywhere from ages 8 to 13, according to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. They get their first periods roughly two years after their breasts start developing.
While precocious puberty, which is the onset of puberty in girls younger than 8 and boys younger than 9, affects just 1% of U.S. children, girls nationwide are getting their first periods earlier and earlier. The median age at menarche was 11.9 in 2013 through 2017, down from 12.1 in 1995, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Early menarche is more than untimely sexual maturity. Girls who get their periods younger than average are at increased risk of myriad medical problems throughout adolescence, such as depression, substance abuse and eating disorders. As adults, they have heightened odds of developing breast cancer, heart disease, obesity and other conditions.
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