Sugary drinks are causing early puberty in girls, study says-gctid142108

[Ajamu]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/sugary-drinks-are-causing-early-puberty-in-girls-study-says/ar-AA8H0xV

         Sugary drinks are causing early puberty in girls, study says

                                                                        Quartz    
                                                        Sonali Kohli          5 hrs ago

Provided by Quartz             Welcome to puberty.               Girls who drink sugary soda more often are more likely to start their menstrual cycles at a younger age, according to a new study (pdf) out of Harvard Medical School.

Researchers analyzed data from 5,583 girls in the Growing up Today Study (GUTS),  surveying American children from 1996 to 2001, beginning when they were  between the ages of 9 to 14. The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, found  that girls were 24% more likely to start menarche (their first  menstrual cycle) in the next month if they drank at least 1.5 servings  of sugar-sweetened drinks a day than if they drank no more than two  servings per week.

This  correlation was true for the carbonated drinks with added sugars, but  not for drinks with natural sugars like fruit juice, says Karin Michels,  a co-author and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. This  study did not examine the underlying reasons for this, but according to  Michels, it's probably because the natural sugar in fruit juice has less of an effect on insulin levels and changes to hormonal metabolism the sugar often added to carbonated drinks.

Sugary sodas also put kids at risk for obesity, which is another cause of early menstruation,  Michels tells Quartz. The researchers accounted for obesity in this  study, and found that sugary drinks cause early menstruation regardless  of weight, she said.

The problems associated with earlier menstruation abound. A recent Newsweek story details the potentially negative psychological and emotional effects, and this study and the Telegraph point to other research showing that for each year a women experiences menstruation, there is an increase to the risk of breast cancer.