Why more girls are experiencing earlier puberty

I don’t think that’s right about starting earlier meaning you finish later. My rather vague idea was the opposite

"cosmiccosmos · Today 16:26

Surely this means that menopause will come earlier? Women who start their periods so early will need ti consider this if they want children"

@cosmiccosmos Ha ha ha! Nope! Started at 10, finished at 50, (hopefully, fingers crossed!).

Apparently it doesn’t. It has the opposite effect. Start periods earlier, menopause occurs later, so you are fertile for longer. Sorry that I can’t find a source for this just now though.

@ArabellaScott
Thank you so much for sharing this article.

Have really been struggling with DD who started periods at 7, two months before her 8th birthday.

When I say struggling, I should be clear I am struggling to cope with feeling my baby has lost her childhood and now has to worry about periods and things like emotions, breasts etc, which I thought we wouldn't have to deal with until secondary school.

Epic cross post there! Thanks, Charlie.

I'm 60 and started at ten and a half. But was over menopause at 45.5! I was taller than average and well fed...

I think I remember reading here some time ago that age of menarche is actually similar to the present in hunter gatherer groups with a good mixed diet, plenty of fresh air and exercise and not too much exposure to infectious disease in childhood. Once people move into cities or towns, eat a grain-heavy diet, live in overcrowded conditions etc etc, their average height drops, so it wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that average age of menarche goes up. I may have got this confused, though! Does anyone else remember this?

2000 years ago, girls started puberty between the ages of ten and twelve.

1000 years ago, girls started puberty between the ages of ten and twelve.

The industrial revolution worsened living conditions so badly that a much higher percentage of girls were malnourished and the onset of puberty was delayed to late teen years.

These living conditions were at their most damaging in the 1850s, the time when researchers started collecting data on puberty and menarche.

Since the 1950s, living conditions have improved almost everywhere, but particularly in developed countries malnutrition is no longer a widespread childhood issue.

That's why the onset of puberty has returned to the human norm.

Recent studies have shown that the age of onset has largely stabilised and is no longer decreasing at a significant rate.

We also now know that the onset of puberty differs between peoples of different ethnicities (due to as yet unknown reasons). So when comparing historic data with contemporary data, we must allow for that difference in onset.

It's interesting from an academic perspective but also society as puberty changes so much.

Thankfully my girls bucked this trend dd1 was 14 and dd2 was 16. Interestingly they are both shorter than average (shorter than me, dd2 particularly short) and very slim (dd1 has eating issues). They both had small appetites as young teens - I'm wondering if there's a link

15 for my daughter but she was under 6 stone before then

I am in my 60’s I started very late 16 in 6th form. I think most of my friends it was between 12 & 14. Interestingly my brother was late to hit puberty between 17& 18 but my Mother was 14 don’t know about my Father.

My mum is nearly 90 and started at 11, I think. She was probably a touch above average height, not fat, but her diet would have been good as her dad was a gardener and grew vegetables and fruit for his employers. Perk of the job was that he and his family could eat that lovely fresh produce too.

I'm in my early 60s (when did that happen? ), was very slim when I was young (right up to my early 30s) and got my first period when I was about 12 - as did most of my friends.

Poor DD started her period at 10. She's very slim but tall - 5'2 already. She's also autistic so it's not like she didn't already have enough to contend with. She's coped admirably though (and period pants are a godsend).

I have a very sporty and fit DD13. Her period started at 11. She is coeliac and interestingly her consultant years ago told us to be in the lookout for earlier puberty as her diet would impact on this. She eats a very protein rich diet.

I suspect that's it @Thirder . It's weight, and the proportion of that weight that is fat, that is a much better guide than age.

45kg is what I remember as the point at which periods start in average, rather than age. It was right for me.

I’m tall and started at just before I was 12 nearly 40 years ago. I would say 1-2 years before most of my friends started. I thought the reason I was earlier was because I was taller.

I remember watching a documentary about very poor people abroad who were in the habit of force feeding girls very high calorie diets to make them fat and sexually mature sooner so they could offer them for marriage ( sell them) its been a practice for centuries so they must have known the link a long time ago.
also it’s known there’s a link between oestrogen and BMI . So it totally makes sense that heavier girls will likely reach puberty sooner.
I also think artificial hormones in meat and second hand contraceptives might also be at play.

Henry VII was born to a mother aged twelve ( although she never conceived again) in 1487. Two hundred years earlier, King John’s wife Isabella was ‘marriageable’ at 13. Both of these girls would have been well fed, with plenty of protein in their diet.

My mum is in her 70s and started her period at 11 as did I and as did my dd.

Do different countries have different average ages for puberty?

Surely this means that menopause will come earlier? Women who start their periods so early will need ti consider this if they want children.

I don’t know what country he’s talking about , but in uk I got my period at 11 and wasn’t the first. I was born in 1960s so this was mid 70s. My best friend ( who was and still is tiny) was the last in the year at 15.5. Most girls had periods by 13.
I don’t know where his stats come from- But in uk average age has not been 16 for many many years
it is well known improved diet means puberty starts earlier. In developing countries in 1990s then 16 may have been normal average age… but not in uk
just a quick look on line says girls typical age now is 12, which is about 1 year earlier than 1970s. But in Nepal for instance, average age is still 16.

Interesting read, thank you @ArabellaScott .
historically menses started equally early 12ish BUT frequent famine stopped regular periods.
what I found interesting in the article was the use of Lupron to allow the girls to reach full height.
suggesting that allowing early menses to be accepted without challenge could have long term height implications.