Study shows new link between obesity in the young and the lowering of age of puberty

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/uop-ssn072714.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 27-Jul-2014
Contact: Andrew Gould
University of Plymouth
Study shows new link between obesity in the young and the lowering of age of puberty

A new link has been identified between obesity in childhood and the lowering of the age of puberty.

The research which discovered the link, carried out at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, is published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The study focuses on a protein called sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), the regulation and role of which in children are poorly defined. SHBG binds to the sex hormones androgen and oestrogen. SHGB levels are initially high in childhood but decline significantly before puberty, in essence 'allowing' puberty to happen.

The research team analysed data from the EarlyBird longitudinal measurement of 347 schoolchildren in Plymouth, UK, aged five to 15 years.

The findings of this study showed that a child who is heavier at age five tends to have lower levels of SHBG throughout childhood and reaches puberty sooner. The tendency was more striking in girls than in boys.

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