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American children are hitting puberty earlier than ever before, and the health ramifications of this go far beyond the obvious emotional challenges it may produce. A recent longitudinal1 study, published in the November 2013 issue of
Pediatrics,2 examined the age at onset of breast development, and the impact of BMI and ethnicity on the precocious puberty trend.

While breast development varied by race, BMI, and location, the study found that girls across the spectrum are now entering puberty3 far earlier than previously documented. The median age at onset of breast development was:4

• 8.8 for African American girls     
• 9.3 for Hispanics     
• 9.7 for white non-Hispanics and Asians

German research5 published in 2012 showed that the onset of puberty for girls had dropped by four years since 1920, and six years over the last century. However, as discussed in the video above, there are even cases of girls now exhibiting the physical signs of puberty as early as age
four!

According to another study in the journal
Pediatrics,6 boys are also beginning sexual development anywhere from six months to two years earlier than the medically accepted standard. Clearly, something unusual is taking place, altering human development as we know it.