While we have heard this over and over for the last few years, this study is significant.  The decrease in start of puberty had been primarily seen only in the United States.  As a result, for a while scientists felt that the data might not have been statistically significant.  Instead, they felt the disparity was due to different sampling and data collection techniques. But in this latest study, Europe is now seeing the decrease in age of menarche and breast development, according to the New York Times.

This has given many of the investigators reason to believe that it is environmental factors causing the early onset of puberty.  What environmental factors?  Food, air quality, and the ever discussed Bisphenol-A and other hormone disruptors.  In any case, this is a cause for concern:

The concern is that early puberty is linked with higher breast cancer risk in adulthood. Early puberty has also been linked with social problems and depression, and is associated with high-risk behaviors in adolescence such as alcohol and drug use and unprotected sex. It’s not clear whether these concerns are the result of physiological changes that influence behavior or are explained by the social pressures girls encounter when their bodies mature.

I think this is another study that shows there needs to be a shift back to a simpler way of life… clean organic food, lack of exposure to chemicals in cosmetics and other household items, and staying away from plastics and cans.

by Jennifer Jaykins