Obesity may delay puberty in boys
February 2nd, 2010 - 2:47 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Feb 2 (ANI): A new U.S. study has shown that higher body mass index during childhood is associated with later onset of puberty.
“We found that increased body fatness is associated with a later onset of puberty in boys, the opposite of what we have seen in girls, as heavier girls tend to develop earlier, rather than later. Our study shows that the relationship between body fat and timing of puberty is not the same in boys as it is in girls,” said U-M paediatric endocrinologist Joyce M. Lee, the study’s lead author.
“Although there have been a number of longitudinal studies looking at the link between body fat and puberty in girls, few studies have been performed in boys. The results of our study suggest that excess weight may lead to a later onset of puberty in boys. Our findings have important implications for understanding sex differences in physiological mechanisms of puberty,” Lee added.
To study the association between weight and the onset of puberty, Lee and her colleagues looked at 401 boys from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in 10 regions of the U.S. using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.
The study has been published in the February issue of the Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. (ANI)
- Higher body fat may lead to delayed puberty in boys - Feb 02, 2010
- Genes linking puberty to body fat in women discovered - Nov 22, 2010
- Age of onset of puberty predicts adult osteoporosis risk - Jan 29, 2011
- Boys hitting puberty a year earlier - Dec 08, 2010
- Site in brain where leptin may trigger puberty identified - Dec 23, 2010
- A tissue that burns oodles of flab - Sep 05, 2011
- Faster growth during puberty triggers anxiety - Sep 02, 2011
- Cholesterol check can guage heart disease risk among obese kids - Aug 29, 2009
- Friends mitigate effect of bad experiences - Jan 29, 2012
- Grandma was right - babies do wake up taller after a sleep! - May 02, 2011
- Early alcohol, tobacco use might delay onset of puberty in girls - Sep 15, 2010
- Obesity begins in babies as young as 9 months old: Study - Jan 03, 2011
- Girls as young as seven hitting puberty in US - Aug 10, 2010
- Boys hitting puberty a year earlier: Study - Dec 08, 2010
- British girls fatter than boys - Dec 07, 2010
Tags: adolescent medicine, body fat, body fatness, body mass index, early child care, economic backgrounds, endocrinologist, excess weight, feb 2, health and human development, institute of child health, longitudinal studies, national institute of child health and human developmen, onset of puberty, paediatric, paediatrics, physiological mechanisms, puberty in boys, puberty in girls, sex differences
