Obese girls start periods earlier, develop breasts slowly, suffer from acne and have excess body hair

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How weight can affect puberty: Obese girls are likely to start their periods earlier, but develop their breasts more slowly, the study reveals

  • The researchers studied 90 girls between the ages of 8 and 15, 36 of whom were obese
  • Previous studies have found that obese girls begin puberty earlier
  • Obese girls had higher levels of some key hormones than thin girls
  • Linked to slow breast maturation, irregular periods, acne and excess hair

By Joe Pinkstone for Mailonline

Posted: | Updated:

A new study has found that obese girls approaching adolescence have high hormone levels that can lead them to start periods earlier than their thinner partners.

Overweight girls also have an increased risk of irregular menstrual cycles, delayed breast development, acne, and excessive body hair during puberty.

Previous research has also found that older young people start puberty earlier, but the new study is the first evidence of why this may be the case.

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According to a study, overweight girls are more likely to develop acne and excess body hair as they go through puberty than their thinner partners.

According to a study, overweight girls are more likely to develop acne and excess body hair as they go through puberty than their thinner partners.

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) studied 90 girls between the ages of 8 and 15, 36 were obese and 54 had a “normal” weight.

They were followed regularly for four years with doctors performing ultrasounds on the breasts and pelvic regions, in addition to measuring hormone levels from the blood sample. Each girl also revealed when they had their first period.

“Girls with higher total body fat showed higher levels of some reproductive hormones, including folluloculant hormone (FSH), inhibin B, and male-like hormones such as testosterone,” said Dr. Natalie Shaw. main author.

U.S. research found that girls who carry too much fat for puppies have different hormone levels during their teens than someone who had an ideal weight (stock).

U.S. research found that girls who carry too much fat for puppies have different hormone levels during their teens than someone who had an ideal weight (stock).

He adds that girls with higher body fat levels, as determined by a double-energy X-ray (DXA) scan, were also younger at the time of the first period and had delayed breast maturation.

However, it was found that body fat and subsequently altered hormone levels have no noticeable impact on the development of the uterus and ovaries.

Dr. Shaw adds, “The long-term consequences of these differences in puberty markers deserve further study.”

The research was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

A 2007 study followed 354 girls through puberty and found that obese girls had an 80 chance of having their first period before age 12.

A correlation between weight and puberty has long been seen, but this was one of the first studies to show that weight caused early pubescence, not the other way around.

However, a 2017 study from Imperial College London found that girls who start puberty earlier are also more likely to be overweight as adults.

According to Dr. Dipender Gill, lead author of the Imperial study, this was evidence that early puberty causes obesity in adulthood.

Both Dr. Gill and Dr. Joyce Lee, lead author of the 2007 study from the University of Michigan, believe they identified causation, the indication to be obese when a child causes early puberty, and this, in turn, causes obesity in adulthood.

However, while the relationship had been established, it was unknown exactly what caused it.

OBESITY: ADULTS WITH A BMI OVER 30 SEE AS ​​OBESE

Obesity is defined as an adult with a BMI of 30 or more.

The BMI of a healthy person, calculated by dividing the weight in kg by the height in meters, and the response again by the height, ranges from 18.5 to 24.9.

Among children, obesity is defined as the 95th percentile.

The percentiles compare young people with others of the same age.

For example, if a three-month-old has the 40th percentile in terms of weight, that means that 40% of three-month-olds weigh the same or less than that baby.

About 58% of women and 68% of men in the UK are overweight or obese.

The condition costs the NHS around £ 6.1 billion, out of its estimated budget of £ 124.7 billion, each year.

This is because obesity increases a person’s risk of suffering from various diseases.

These conditions include type 2 diabetes, which can cause kidney disease, blindness, and even limb amputations.

Research suggests that at least one in six hospital beds in the UK is occupied by a patient with diabetes.

Obesity also increases the risk of heart disease, which kills 315,000 people each year in the UK, making it the leading cause of death.

The transport of dangerous amounts of weight has also been linked to 12 different cancers.

This includes the breast, which affects one in eight women at some point in their lives.

Among children, research suggests that 70% of obese young people have high blood pressure or raise cholesterol, putting them at risk for heart disease.

Obese children are also much more likely to become obese adults.

And if children are overweight, their obesity in adulthood is usually more severe.

Up to one in five children starts school in the UK overweight or obese, reaching one in three when they turn ten.

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