万花筒 2008-06-28&-06-29 女孩们，小心性早熟（在线收听）

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 toxins, 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 hormone 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 helping 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.