Girls with higher total body fat have delayed breast maturation, as determined by breast ultrasound, and earlier menarche<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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FRIDAY, Feb. 26, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Girls with higher total body fat (TBF) have differences in hormonal and clinical markers of puberty in late puberty, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism<\/em>.<\/p>\n Madison T. Ortega, from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and colleagues examined how body weight\/fat affects clinical and biochemical pubertal markers in 90 girls (36 overweight\/obese; 54 normal weight) aged 8.2 to 14.7 years who were followed during the course of four years.<\/p>\n The researchers found that over time, there were increases in luteinizing hormone, estradiol, and ovarian and uterine volumes, with no effect of TBF. A time x TBF interaction was identified for follicle-stimulating hormone, inhibin B, estrone, total and free testosterone, and androstenedione; initially, levels were similar but they increased, plateaued, and declined in girls with higher TBF, mid-range TBF, and lower TBF, respectively, after one year. Progression through stage D of breast ultrasound for morphological staging was slower for girls with higher TBF, but compared with girls with lower TBF, they achieved menarche earlier.<\/p>\n “In late puberty, girls with greater body fat also showed delayed breast maturation, as determined by breast ultrasound, and earlier menarche,” a coauthor said in a statement. “The long-term consequences of these differences in puberty markers deserves further study.”<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n