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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]

I vividly remember bursting into laughter during my early Form One days while holding a Science book whose contents had somewhat funny-looking diagrams of the female and male reproductive organs. 

What made me and my friends giggle with embarrassment was the fact that we had just started puberty at the onset of our teenagehood and it was somewhat normal to laugh at the pictorial explanation that we were seeing for the first time, of what was going on in our bodies.

Puberty was just an interesting phenomenon that teachers and even elders at home had struggled to open up about using euphemisms such as ukuthomba just to summarise menstruation, wet dreams, growth of breasts and hips, voice deepening in boys, etc. 

As the years went by, puberty seemed to find its way into younger and younger girls and I am pretty sure that topic can now be easily explained by a Grade Four learner as it is normal for them. 

Protruding breasts and hips- typically the first sign of puberty are seen in younger girls than before and health experts describe the onset of puberty now more than a year earlier than previously recorded.

Data suggests that girls seen in a sample of paediatric practices in First World countries are developing pubertal characteristics at younger ages than currently used norms.

Locally, the trend is similar and experts say a lot of these changes are attributed to diet. The early onset of puberty is exposing girls to teenage pregnancies. 

Miss Portia Chisvo, a renonwed nutrition expert says the trend towards early pubertal onset for teenagers is a complex interplay of multiple factors and diet being one of them. 

“The percentage of children with precocious puberty is rapidly increasing seeing most girls hit puberty at the age of seven. Early puberty’s main cause is usually linked to early maturation of the pituitary gland or hypothalamus. The onset of puberty begins with the pituitary gland releasing hormones. In girls, the hormones target the ovaries, which start the development of the hormone, oestrogen. In boys, the hormones target the testicles, which starts the development of the hormone, testosterone,” said Miss Chisvo. 

“The transition from a plant-based diet to a diet of animal origin high in fats and highly processed foods is playing a key role in perpetuating this premature aging in children. Excess fat produces more oestrogen leading to early sexual development. Excess body fat alters levels of the hormones insulin, leptin, and oestrogen, and these factors are thought to be responsible for the accelerated time of puberty due to obesity.” 

Miss Chisvo added that most people have fallen into a trend of convenient foods that are highly processed and have excess amounts of fat and sugar. 

“This leads to most children developing obesity early. Moreover, animal protein also increases levels of hormones, which is why high egg consumption is believed to make female children mature early in terms of sex hormones leading to early breast development. The consumption of meat and dairy in children may also reflect the consumption of environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that have accumulated in animal tissues,” she said.

Miss Chisvo said this leads to an imbalance in hormones and early maturation in children.

Children’s diets, Miss Chisvo said, should focus on whole plant foods rather than animal foods. This will keep protein intake within a safe range and reduce a child’s EDC consumption.

“Members of the public should minimise dairy products and processed foods. A child’s diet should include as many natural foods as possible including fruits and vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins. Encourage children to be active and inculcate in them a habit of exercise. That is one way to break the chains of obesity and early puberty,” she said.

Renowned gynaecologist and epidemiologist Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said early puberty leads to earlier sexual debut which leads to teenage pregnancies.

“The new Westernised diet predisposes children to early puberty. The age of the onset of puberty has been falling over the years. Early puberty predisposes young girls to sexual abuse and early pregnancies. Teenagers end up missing out on schooling. Teenage pregnancies have a lot of complications during pregnancy and childbirth,” said Prof Ngwenya.

“People should be encouraged to revert to eating traditional foods and cut down on these modern foods with so many chemicals. We should find joy in eating our traditional foods to keep healthy and strong so that we avert contracting many diseases that are now prevalent compared to the old days.”