As if growing up weren't hard enough, a new report published by San Francisco's Breast Cancer Fund says girls, particularly African American girls, are hitting puberty earlier - and it's lasting longer.

 Environmental toxins, obesity, and psychological stressors are all cited as possible reasons for the trend in the report written by Ithaca College professor Sandra Steingraber. It was commissioned about a year ago to put together what she calls "pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle."

 Steingraber found that many girls now start to develop breasts as early as eight years old - two years earlier than they did a few decades ago. On average, however, girls begin menstruating only a few months earlier than they once did - making puberty a lengthier process.

 The consequences of growing up too soon are serious - depression and anxiety, eating disorders, sexual objectification, and early drug and alcohol abuse are just a few.

 "As a mother of a nine-year-old girl," Steingraber says, "I was really impressed by the consequences, not just the causes. The world is not a good place for early-maturing girls."

 The implications are not just psychological. According to Steingraber's report, menarche before age 12 raises breast cancer risk by 50 percent.

 "The data is pretty ample linking the two," she says. "The earlier a girl gets her breasts, the wider the estrogen window." Longer lifetime exposure to estrogen increases the risk of developing many forms of breast cancer.

 Steingraber points to obesity and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (toxins that interfere with the hormonal system) as major factors in the new puberty equation. Phthalates, bisphenol A, and dioxin are a few of the culprits often cited by environmental health advocates as contributors to earlier puberty onset. These chemicals are often found in cosmetics and personal care products like shampoo, hand lotion, and sunscreen. They are also used in pesticides.

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