Food groups increase the risk of early puberty

Consuming a lot of fast food, processed meat, and foods high in salt can cause endocrine disorders, causing children to enter puberty early.

Precocious puberty is a condition in which a child's body begins to show signs of physical maturity earlier than normal (before age 8 in girls and before age 9 in boys).

Nutritionist Do Thi Lan, Department of Nutrition, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, said that the rate of early puberty in recent years has tended to increase, fluctuating from 1/5,000 to 1/10,000 children, in which girls are 10 times more likely to have early puberty than boys.

Early puberty in children can be caused by genetics, hormonal disorders, and problems in the central nervous system. In addition, an unreasonable diet causes children to gain weight quickly, causing overweight and obesity, which changes hormones and speeds up puberty. Meanwhile, malnourished and malnourished children are still at risk of early puberty due to unscientific eating habits that disrupt the endocrine cycle.

Diet influences the composition of the gut microbiome, altering levels of the sex hormone estrogen, potentially influencing the timing of puberty. Certain types of gut bacteria influence the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.

These substances may act on the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis, the key system necessary for pubertal development.

Nutritionist Lan notes that some of the foods below help shorten the time of puberty in children.

Fried foods with a lot of oil contain a lot of fat, which can easily lead to obesity if consumed a lot. This condition occurring before adolescence can accelerate the conversion of androgen to estrogen, change the sensitivity and secretion of hormones, activate the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis, and promote puberty.

Fat accumulation in the body produces the hormone leptin, which can act on the hypothalamus to stimulate the release of gonadotropin (GnRH) - a hormone that is often present in the early stages of puberty. Foods high in saturated fat can increase the risk of insulin resistance, stimulate the ovaries to produce more estrogen, increasing the risk of early puberty in girls.

Consuming too many foods rich in sugar and starch leads to excessive weight gain. Absorbing large amounts of carbohydrates also stimulates the production and release of insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels, over time causing insulin resistance, increasing the risk of early puberty.

A high-sugar diet contributes to chronic inflammation in the body, which in turn affects the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.

Chronic inflammation also causes physiological stress, stimulating the adrenal glands to produce androgens - precursors to sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. Increased levels of androgens contribute to earlier puberty.

Eating foods high in sugar can cause children to enter puberty early. Photo: Hai Au — Eating foods high in sugar can cause children to enter puberty early. Photo: *Hai Au*

Foods containing a lot of salt are harmful to the digestive system and kidneys, affect metabolism, activate the hormone neurokinin B related to reproduction, and cause early puberty.

Fast food and processed meats mostly contain a lot of fat, sugar, salt, colorings, sweeteners, flavorings, preservatives... They affect sex hormones and trigger puberty in children.

Eating a lot of animal protein can increase IGF-1 levels, promote growth and accelerate puberty. According to expert Lan, children who consume too much animal protein (in meat, milk and products) compared to the recommended level at the age of 3-7 years old will often reach puberty earlier. These foods are often packaged in nylon or plastic, which can contain chemicals such as Bisphenol A (BPA), Phthalates that stimulate estrogen production, and genetic modification...

Animal organs increase the risk of overweight, obesity, fatty liver disease, dyslipidemia, and early puberty.

Poultry neck meat: Poultry today such as chickens, geese, ducks... mainly eat food containing a lot of growth stimulants, when eaten, they will accumulate mainly in the area from the neck up to the head. Therefore, when children eat a lot of meat in these areas, these substances enter the child's body, thereby stimulating growth, causing early puberty.

Out-of-season fruits and vegetables can contain a lot of ripening and preservatives. These chemicals can alter genes, disrupt hormones and cause children to mature faster than their peers.

Industrial fish meat is often fed with growth-promoting drugs. These substances accumulate in the meat and fatty tissue, and when consumed can disrupt the endocrine balance.

Trinh Mai

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