Puberty and obesity - possible link?

[Fanny Adams 7]

I could be completely wrong here, but I am sure I have heard the words "I matured at a much younger age than my peers" from many women in here. This makes me curious - is there a link between early onset puberty and obesity? For myself, even though I didn't start to gain weight until my late twenties, I suspect the tendency might have always been there, as I started "changing" at only 9 years old and got my first menarche at about 10 & half. By 12-13 years old, I was fully physically mature, sporting a C-D cup and rounded hips, even though I was only 115lb. So....at what age did you ladies hit puberty? (Sorry fellas, I just don't see how it could apply but if I'm wrong, please let me know.)

Edited April 19, 2008 by Fanny Adams

[Jachut 487]

I was smack bang average at 14. And I didnt really have any physical development until it happened.

[luluc 6]

Fanny Adams, I was 11 when had my first "menarche/period" & a C cup at the time. So yeah I matured much earlier than my peers and my mom - who was 16 when she got her period for the first time & never got over a A cup.

From that time on I remained in the 120lb range & it wasn't until the last few years that I gained my weight...but KNOW I always had the propensity. The minute I got married & stop working out is when I put on the lbs. For me, I HAVE to include exercise to the diet & band for me to have the desired results I want,, cause I'll always have them "Hips":tongue:

[Fanny Adams 7]

Hehe - I am probably just sensitive to the words "I matured early" because I can relate to them. If it turns out that there is no correlation, then cool, it was a wild idea and no harm done; if it turns out that there is some statistical anomoly in the correlation, then I would start to wonder why the link hasn't been investigated before now. I seriously doubt I have struck upon a new revelation in obesity causes, but I have to say I am curious to see the results - of course the first post after mine WOULD be one to negate the whole premise - LOL!! :cry_smile:

[Fanny Adams 7]

Fanny Adams, I was 11 when had my first "menarche/period" & a C cup at the time. So yeah I matured much earlier than my peers and my mom - who was 16 when she got her period for the first time & never got over a A cup.

From that time on I remained in the 120lb range & it wasn't until the last few years that I gained my weight...but KNOW I always had the propensity. The minute I got married & stop working out is when I put on the lbs. For me, I HAVE to include exercise to the diet & band for me to have the desired results I want,, cause I'll always have them "Hips":tongue:

So vote, luluc, and let's see how the stats turn out :cry_smile::crying:

[Luu2008 2]

My period came when I was 11 years old. I also sported a C-cup by the time I was entering 6th grade. Not much fun going from a little girl to a woman's body in the matter of months. Then I had a few "chubby" years before I slimmed down to 120 for the rest of HS and College, however, I always had ample curves. I exercised and watched what I ate from age 13 on up if I didn't I gained. My pregnancies I gained 80 pounds for each. The first pregnancy I lost it within a year thanks to Phen Phen and maintained the loss for the most part. The 2nd I yo-yo'd always climbing higher. I have always felt my early puberty was caused by my bodies ability to become obese. My mom also had an early period compared to her sisters and has fought obesity her entire life.

[TulipStar 2]

I was obese as a kid (200 lbs by 10 years old) and I didn't start until I was 13.

[WhisperLightly 0]

We are seeing the national average for girls going through menstration starting earlier and earlier. Half a century ago, the average age was probably 16. Now, it's more like 11.

You need to have a certain percentage of fat in your body to begin the menstration cycle.. The amount of fat in the average American diet is leading to the earlier puberty rates. Unfortunately, once a girl hits puberty it becomes just that much harder to shed the weight. So, I think there is a link... but I think the link lies more within the fact that a higher percentage of body fat leads to earlier periods, instead of earlier periods leads to obesity.

[MacMadame 81]

We are seeing the national average for girls going through menstration starting earlier and earlier. Half a century ago, the average age was probably 16. Now, it's more like 11.

This is a common misconception. The difference is not that dramatic. First of all, half a century ago is about 1958. In 1963, the average age of menarche was between 12.9 and 12.75 depending on what study you quote. Now it's about 12.5 to 12.8, again depending on the study you quote. The average hasn't been 16 for well over a century and we have a ways to go until it's 11 because there has been a leveling off in the drop.

From reading the stories on LBT, I get the impression that entering puberty does start obesity in some women and for others having a baby does it. That doesn't cover everyone, of course, but those two themes seem to be the most common.

Also, there is a correlation between weight and onset of menarche. But it's not that menarche causes weight gain. It's that you have to have a certain percentage of body fat in order to have menarche. This is one reason why the age has gone down -- nutrition has improved and there are a lot less starving kids with low body fat percentages in the world.

[kathystrick 3]

I started in 6th grade, so was probably around 12. I attribute my weight gain to having to be put on birth control pills less than a year later due to a hormone imbalance. Once I started, I would have extended and very heavy bleeding for an average of 4 weeks every 3 months. I battled that until I finally had a hysterectomy in the summer of 2006. Wish they had a magic pill the worked as effectively at getting that weight back off!

[laurenwhite82 0]

I started right at the age of 10 and, like most other people, that is when I began to hold weight. I had a D-cup and was 5'2'' when I was in the fifth grade. I am still 5'2'' and have obviously grown a few cup sizes!! From that point forward is where I remember a distinct difference in how I -looked as compared to my peers. I was around 120-130 in the 6th grade, and I cant wait to get back to that size!!!

[ReadySteadyGo 8]

I was 10. I also went to a school with no doors on the bathroom stalls and I felt like a monster bc noone I knew had theres yet.

I was insanely modest back then.

[Guest Leslie2Lose]

I was 10. I was tall and thin - at least a head taller than 98% of my 6th grade class. Also wore a C cup. I don't even remember having a "training bra". Went from A to C overnight it seems. I didn't put on weight though until college and became officially "obese" after childbirth. My thyroid went wacko and I didn't discover it for five years and 75 pounds later.

[Ang1982 4]

Hmm let's see I was in the 6th grade ... so 10 or 11 when it happened, by that point I had already been developing breasts and I was already on the heavier side (one of the biggest kids in the class thats for sure) however I was crazy active as a kid and even then I was on soccer teams, volleyball teams, played Rugby during lunch/recess. By grade 7 I was a D cup and over 5'4", by high school (our school was gr 8-12) I was probably a size 16+ and a DDD. Once I developed LARGER breasts my activity level went to almost none as running or anything of the sort was an EXTREME challenge with breasts that size (they just continued to get larger through high school years - when I had a reduction at 19 I was a G or H) so I found myself hating physical activity of any kind because it was so difficult.

Do I think there could be a tie between puberty and obesity? Sure I do. My sister was a pretty average size through all her high school years and we were complete opposite - she was 5'3, smaller chested, and smaller in general - I was 5'4+ (5'7 now), VERY large chested, larger in general and I was the active kid of the two of us, I was the one on the sports team, in track and field, etc.

[Jachut 487]

This is a common misconception. The difference is not that dramatic. First of all, half a century ago is about 1958. In 1963, the average age of menarche was between 12.9 and 12.75 depending on what study you quote. Now it's about 12.5 to 12.8, again depending on the study you quote. The average hasn't been 16 for well over a century and we have a ways to go until it's 11 because there has been a leveling off in the drop.

From reading the stories on LBT, I get the impression that entering puberty does start obesity in some women and for others having a baby does it. That doesn't cover everyone, of course, but those two themes seem to be the most common.

Also, there is a correlation between weight and onset of menarche. But it's not that menarche causes weight gain. It's that you have to have a certain percentage of body fat in order to have menarche. This is one reason why the age has gone down -- nutrition has improved and there are a lot less starving kids with low body fat percentages in the world.

I agree, I can clearly remember the sex ed nights my primary school held, back in 1978 or so, and the average age then was said to be 11 to 13. I was worried by the time I hit 13 as I was late compared to lots of my friends. 1978 was a looooong time ago!

Also, I 've noticed a lot of the kids' friends at school, the girls are wearing bras already (grade 5 and 6) but only the obese ones and did sort of think boy oh boy they're maturing early these days (I got my first bra at about 15), and if you really look, they dont have breasts, they have fat the same way men get man boobs. They havent hit puberty at all.