Black Girls Now Showing Signs of Puberty at Age 7 [VIDEO]

Can parents prevent it?

Black girls are experiencing early puberty at a higher rate than their fellow counterparts, Good Morning America recently revealed. Host Katie Couric spoke with author Elizabeth Weil who, last week, wrote a New York Times article titled, "Puberty Before Age 10: A New ‘Normal’?"

Weil found that by age 7, 23 percent of Black girls had begun developing breasts, as opposed to 2 percent of Asian girls, 10 percent of white girls, and 15 percent of Hispanic girls.

Though Weil couldn't identify why ethnicity seemed to play a big role in early puberty, she did admit that contributing factors could be obesity, stress, and environmental toxicants.

[ALSO READ: Why Black Women Are Obese]

Guest Dr. Jennifer Ashton admitted that the idea of plastics (and other "endocrine-disrupters") encouraging estrogen production is just a "theory" and that the disorder is too "complex" to have "all the answers" right now.

However, Ashton admitted that the age in which young girls get their period hasn't wavered in over a decade - 11 for white girls, 12 for Black.

Weil also made note that such early development can put our girls at a higher risk of having depression, breast cancer and short stature.

The only advice the women could provide thus far for prevention is to keep young girls exercising and at a healthy weight.

[ALSO READ: Oh, Yes! Black Girls Do Run]

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