Children of Early Puberty Mothers Have Higher Obesity Risk

A new study researching links for the causes of child obesity has found the connection between the age at which the child's mother first began menstruating and her child's risk of obesity.

The study was carried out in the UK and used 6,000 children. The results were certainly interesting. They showed that when a child has a mother that entered puberty early, they had a higher risk of obesity. These children of early puberty mothers were seen to grow much faster when there were babies and become too heavy as children.

The University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council carried out the study. The head researcher on the study was Dr. Ken Ong.

A similar link between growing quickly and becoming overweight has been seen in adults as well. It has been found that a woman that begins menstruating early she is more likely to be overweight as an adult and she is also more likely to have a shorter height. The faster speed of development is passed on from the mother to her child, increasing the risk of childhood obesity in her children.

According to the researchers the "earlier age at menarche may indicate a transgenerational influence toward a fast tempo of childhood growth, which is transmitted from the mother to her offspring." "Understanding the genetic, epigenetic, or behavioural factor that underlie this process will identify processes that regulate both the timing of puberty and the risk of childhood-onset obesity."

The study found that a mother who first began having her periods at the age of 11 has obesity risk that was five times higher than a mother that began menstruating at the age of 15. Researchers feel that if a mother entered puberty early they should begin keeping a close eye on how quickly their children put on weight so that any problems can be caught early.

Besides the higher risk of childhood obesity in children of early puberty mothers, these children also can be exposed to an increase in psychological issues due to their faster growth. This is according to a puberty expert from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Marcia Herman-Giddens. One example Giddens gives of a potential psychological problem, is that a girl who reaches puberty early is more susceptible to sexual attention from older boys.

According the report, put out by the PLoS (Library of Science Medicine), the finding could help parents and children become aware of potential obesity risks before it becomes a serious health issue.

The findings of this study are very important for modern society as children are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages. According to an expert from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Joyce Lee, today's children begin menstruating on average at the age of 13. However this is a dramatic difference over the years. In the middle of the 18th century, in Europe the average age of menstruation was 17.

Sources
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11696-mothers-early-puberty-boosts-childs-obesity-risk.html
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=68324
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6583485.stm