BOYS TO MEN
Male kids hitting puberty up to 2 yrs. earlier: study
IT’S NOT your imagination — little boys really are growing up faster.
Boys are starting puberty six months to two years earlier than previously thought, depending on their race, according to a new study published Saturday.
British research from the 1960s, used as the benchmark for decades, put the average age of puberty onset at 11.5 years old for white boys.
The new study found the average is 10 years old for white boys, and 9 years old for African-American boys — six months earlier than a U.S. study done in the 1990s.
The new average for Hispanics is 10, compared with 12 in a smaller study from the 1980s.
“Parents should be aware that boys may be developing earlier and give their sons the proper guidance and instructions on what to expect,” said Marcia Herman-Giddens, lead author of the American Academy of Pediatrics study.
Patrick Allen, 50, the choirmaster at Grace Church in lower Manhattan, has noticed the phenomenon.
He remembers how he and his friends’ voices didn’t deepen until they turned 15, meaning they could no longer sing soprano.
“A whole lot of us sang into high school back then. Now, we lose boys at 11 and 12,” said Allen.
Manhattan brothers and Grace Church choristers James, 13, and Luke Waring, 10, said they are glad their high notes are still intact.
“I really like being a kid. I don’t want to grow up too fast,” said Luke.
Previous research has identified a similar trend toward earlier puberty in girls — attributed by some experts to obesity and hormone-disrupting chemicals in the environment.
But it’s unclear what’s fueling earlier puberty in boys — or the cause of the racial differences — because so little comprehensive research has been done in the past.
The researchers analyzed sexual maturity markers in 4,131 boys ages 6 to 16 who were seen at wellness clinics across the U.S.
Although the new data shows more boys maturing earlier, it doesn’t change what’s considered the normal window for puberty — 9 years to 14 years old.