The growing and extremely troubling problem of girls reaching puberty early was first identified in 1997 and has obvious visual signs that are not easy to ignore.
In the United States, as many as 10 in 100 white girls, 15 in 100 Hispanic girls, and 25 in 100 African American girls are experiencing breast development as early as 7 years old!  Many more are reaching this development milestone by 9-10 years old, something that was unheard of only a generation ago.
The problem of early puberty has more subtle physical signs in boys, however, which has made it more difficult for researchers to study until now.
The November 2012 issue of Pediatrics which was published online on October 20, 2012 confirms what many have long suspected – that boys are hitting puberty very early as well, in some cases a full 2 years earlier than medical textbooks indicate as standard.
The study included an examination of the pubertal characteristics of more than 4,100 boys via data collected by 212 practitioners in 144 pediatric offices across 41 states.
The results showed that the genital and pubic hair growth which are standard indications of the onset of puberty was 6 months to as much as 2 years earlier than only a few decades ago.
The earliest puberty recorded by the Pediatricians was 10.1 years old for non-Hispanic white boys, 10.4 years old for Hispanic boys, and 9.14 years for African-American boys.
While the researchers conclude that the reasons for boys reaching maturity earlier are unclear, it is fairly obvious from a common-sense perspective that environmental concerns are very likely a large contributing factor.
Could Antibiotics in Animal Feed be the Cause?
Conventional farmers have been adding antibiotics to animal feed and even water since the 1960s. Â This practice became standard because animals subjected to low, long term doses of antibiotics not only did not get sick as much but they also grew much faster.
Animals that mature faster help improve the bottom line as more animals are ready for slaughter within a shorter period of time which allows farms using antibiotic laced feed or water to be more profitable.
Children who frequently eat conventionally produced meat and dairy sourced from animals fed antibiotic laced feed are very likely albeit indirectly ingesting low levels of antibiotics as well which could be contributing to the continued drop in the age of puberty onset not only for boys but girls as well.
Stop the Antibiotics in Animal Feed
In April 2012, the FDA came out against the routine use of antibiotics in animal feed or water due to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance in humans which has now reached crisis proportions as there are now strains of MRSA and TB that are resistant to all last line of defense antibiotics.
The new FDA guidelines ask but do not require drug companies to withhold the sale of antibiotics used as growth promoters in animals such as penicillin and tetracycline which are medically important to human disease management.
Antibiotics could still be given to sick animals, but feed containing antibiotics would have to be prescribed by a veterinarian.
Companies have 3 years to implement the changes and if the FDA determines that some companies aren’t complying, then the force of law via regulation will be considered at that time.
Parents Must Actively Take Steps to Avoid Antibiotic Exposure for Their Children
In the meantime, it would be wise for concerned parents to take the trouble to source antibiotic-free meats and dairy for their children, preferably locally sourced and grass-fed to maximize nutritional content as well. Â Children grow up too quickly as it is even without the problem of accelerated puberty.
Waiting a minimum of another 3 years to gauge whether companies are truly complying with the new FDA guideline to withhold antibiotics from animal feed unless medically necessary is far too long.
It would also be wise for parents to discuss with their doctor how to avoid routine antibiotics for healthy children for illnesses that will usually resolve on their own without any meds such as strep and ear infections. Â Holistic doctors and homeopathists offer many other options besides antibiotics to help children recover from illness without the easy crutch of antibiotics.
Given that overexposure to these types of drugs is highly suspect as a cause for faster development in children just as it is documented to do in animals, seeking alternative medical care to avoid antibiotics for your children as much as possible would be a smart move indeed to protect not only their reproductive health but their experience of childhood as well.
Sources
American Academy of Pediatrics Study Documents Early Puberty Onset in Boys
FDA: Stop Giving Antibiotics to Animals
More Girls Starting Puberty Early
I have read that when they put 40 animals in a pen in the feedlot, that one or more of the heifers is in season at any one time. To avoid the activity provoked by being in season, I am told that they give drugs to stop the heifters from cycling. Do you want to feed your family meat from such animals. It makes sense to me that these “stop the cycling” drugs can have an effect of the onset of puberty in children. The state veterinary meat inspector for Arizona told me in 1970 that he suspected that the DES given to cattle at that time had affected his two daughter’s onset of puberty. I have raised organic beef for the last 42 years
And the medical tyranny never stops… *sigh* Only if the American people as a whole started caring about our food, water, and overall health. Most want quantity over quality, and at what cost? Our health & future generations to come…
Spook, my sons pediatrician actually offers coupons for probiotics, but thats about the closest Ive ever seen.
We use probiotics/vitamins in our house for our family. We also have a dairy farm. We sale our milk to the local co-op & our cows that are sold to beef to our local sale barn. Our milk & meat is tested like crazy for antibiotics & we are randomly inspected… if we sent a cow with antibiotics, huge trouble… and we cannot afford trouble like that. If we send “hot milk” then not only are we in trouble for our milk… we have to pay the fines & pay for the whole truck of milk. I did want to say something about the above mentioned post…. If we fed our calves that much grain… they would bloat up & die. Their little bodies cannot handle that…. And our calves do just fine when weaned… they are not stressed out…
You eat what your food eats. That’s why it is so important to source quality meats that have only been fed the best and received no hormones, antibiotics or pesticide/GMO feed.
Have asked many many doctors why probiotics aren’t prescribed as a matter of course in medicine..have never receiced much but a grunt and mumble….Killing your gut flora is good for you ?? HELLO
The article I read was on dr Ted broer’s website. Pretty interesting!
@Lorri soy can accelerate puberty in girls .. never read this for boys though. Given that it’s plant estrogens, it would seem to delay it rather than accelerate puberty. either way, there are a lot of things messing up our kids hormones no doubt.
I remember in like ’96 or ’97, my best friend in elementary school grew breasts and started her period, she was only 8. The part that always confused me is that even back then I was told by doctors that being fat meant I was going to have hormone problems and start puberty early, but she was this super skinny, active sports person who ate well and had her period a full 3 years before me. Fat does contribute to health problems, but it’s primarily a symptom, not a cause. You can look “healthy” and still have a messed up endocrine system, obviously.