Scare alert! (and something a bit lighter)

On a totally separate note, and separate post, I saw this in the New York Times today:

First Signs of Puberty Seen in Younger Girls


by Denise Grady (click on the title for access to full article at the New York Times website)

"A new study finds that girls are more likely today than in the past to start developing breasts by age 7 or 8.

The research is just the latest in a flood of reports over the last decade that have led to concern and heated debate about whether girls are reaching puberty earlier, and why it might be happening.

Increased rates of obesity are thought to play a major role, because body fat can produce sex hormones. Some researchers also suspect that environmental chemicals that mimic the effects of estrogen may be speeding up the clock on puberty, but that idea is unproved.

The issue is of concern for both medical and psychosocial reasons. Studies suggest that earlier puberty, as measured by the age at first menstruation, can slightly increase the risk of breast cancer, probably because it results in longer lifetime exposure to the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which can feed some tumors."

This is the sort of thing that scares the crap out of me. I know it says environmental chemicals as a factor is unproven, but an organic lifestyle is healthier by leaps and bounds. And it prevents you from even having to worry about environmental chemicals being ingested through the food you THINK is making you healthy. I don't know all the facts, and I'm not pretending that I do. I'm just saying it scares the living daylights out of me, and I think we should start paying better attention, and actually start doing something about it rather than just talking about it. At the risk of sounding preachy. Again. dammit.

And, as further proof that Sesame Street can teach you everything you need to know 

 

(minus the gluttony. and the fact that 99% of the time he was scarfing cookies.) 

sources: New York Times, Jbrangwynne53