万花筒 2008-06-28&-06-29 女孩们，小心性早熟

For most parents, their little girls grow up way too fast. Well，now they might have the statistics to back up that claim. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, girls are hitting puberty earlier, showing signs as early as 8 years of age, and also getting their periods earlier, down from an age of almost 15 in the late 1800s to today’s average of about 12. The big question is why?

 

“There are a lot of reasons that people propose for that I’m not sure I ever have the exact answer, but part of it may be environmental toxins¹, it may be that girls and women are heavier now, their actual body weight is actually greater than it was before, and that can affect hormone² production.”

 

While this trend could just be part of our species' natural evolution, it may also raise some health concerns for women later in life.

 

“We do know the longer someone has menstrual cycles, it does increase their risk for some kinds of cancer, the more estrogen you have exposed to your body, perhaps it increases the risk of breast cancer, possibly uterine cancer.”

 

Understanding what’s happening to their bodies will go a long way to helping³ girls tackle this fast track and possibly confusing race to becoming a woman.

 

Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.

 

Now we all know that puberty is a natural phase, but the physical changes can be embarrassing especially for young girls. It’s important for parents to help kids understand the changes so that they will know exactly what to expect. For more information about early puberty, talk to your pediatrician or a family physician.
 

1 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。