Let me preface this post by putting in a disclaimer: I am not a Doctor, nor am I a scientist. I am nothing more than an individual who is talented at research and forming an educated opinion. I don't know if the linkage is legitimate or imagined, but, I would think that it is a very strange coincidence if it is not linked.
I have been doing a bit of reading today and have come across an interesting hypothesis. All our lives we have been taught that you are what you eat. The startling idea that formed with that thought and a conversation with a friend, led me to hypothesize that perhaps there is a definitive link between the food we are feeding our kids and sexual maturity. I know it sounds a little crazy, but let me explain the link.
The population of the world is creating a strong demand for meat to feed it. When the population was moderate, there was not a strong demand. Many families raised livestock--cows, pigs, and chickens--with the sole purpose of feeding their families. During this time, it took the calendar, and patience to get the animals to the right size and weight to make them ready for slaughter. There was no feeding growth hormones or force feeding (other than goose for foie gras, but that is not what I am talking about) to induce a fattening effect. Quite simply, a farmer (or hand, or kids) would let the cows, goats, and sheep feed off the grass that grew naturally, toss seed to chickens (or let them scratch their own), and feed the pig leftovers. As a child I can remember doing all of those (except the cows, goats and sheep...townships frowned on having them). We had a bucket that all of the plate scrapings and leftovers went into all day. After it was full, we would "slop the hogs". The chickens we would let scratch their own food and supplement that with egg shells and seed. When they were large enough, we would take the pigs to the slaughter house and we would kill the chickens.
In today's world, things are a bit different. The life of a livestock farmer has really gone by the wayside. People still raise chickens, but they feed them engineered food that makes them grow faster than natural and give them an antibiotic solution with growth hormone to prevent illness and get them to lay eggs faster. Industrial chicken houses have sprouted up all over where many of the chickens are kept in cages that are one foot square or in large warehouses. The cocktail of growth hormones that are given to these birds, causes them to grow at two to three times their normal rate and often cause the animals to develop musculature that their body cannot support. [http://www.foodispower.org/chickens-raised-for-meat/] Cows and pigs are generally treated to the same type of cocktail resulting in animals aging faster than nature intended.
I discuss all of that to get to the point. If we are feeding our children these animals that have been treated with all of these growth hormone and muscle building materials, could it really be that far of a stretch to assume that these same chemicals could be effecting our children? Since the 1800's the age for sexual maturity (described as menarche for females and ejaculatory capability in males) has been declining. In the 1800's girls were not having their first periods until an average of 17. Today that number has dropped considerably to 12 years. Boys in the 1800's usually did not gain ejaculatory capability until 16, but today 14 is typical. At first glance, better medical care, better nutrition, and genetics play a role, but the growth hormones do also have an affect on human growth and development. [http://www.livestrong.com/article/98816-effects-growth-hormones/]
As a result of the younger sexual maturity, teen pregnancies become a problem. It is true that in today's world, condoms and sexual education, have both slowed the problem, but it does still exist. [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db89.pdf] In the referenced document, it shows first an increase in teen pregnancies followed by a gradual decline. This increase coincides with the use of growth hormones in food animals as well as a shift in cultural norms. In the 1940's to about the 1960's, many families were very strict with regard to discussion about sexuality. Often the only sex education one would get was on their wedding night. In the 1960's many of the taboos were lifted with the idea of sexual liberation. Many people were experimenting with sex in that time period. On to the 1980's when HIV/AIDS made it's debut. This ushered in a new era of sexual awareness which extends into today.
I remember as a teen, we had a sex ed class that in retrospect was a laughable attempt at trying to make kids that had already become sexually mature, to understand the changes in their bodies. When I was in high school, most of the boys had all the physical characteristics of sexually mature adults, some had some characteristics and very few (including me) had none at all. Along with the stigma of being a "late bloomer", those of us that were late would often have to deal with bullying. Our bodies still retained a good deal of the feminine quality that disappears when a boy enters puberty. (Bullying is another topic for another post)
I believe that with the kids maturing sooner, it becomes imperative that a clinical sex ed class should be taught in the first year of middle school (the 6th grade). With clinical education, ready availability of condoms and birth control pills, and parental involvement, we can teach our kids sexual responsibility and consequences before it becomes too late.
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