BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To determine the associations between socio-demographic characteristics and pubertal status with disordered eating among primary school children. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN Using a stratified multi-stage sampling, a total of 816 children (282 boys and 534 girls) aged 10 to 11 years from 12 selected primary schools in the state of Selangor, participated in this study. D...

BACKGROUND Depression and being overweight are correlated health problems in adulthood. Adolescence is a significant period for the onset and increase of depression and obesity, especially among girls. Pubertal development also occurs with concomitant increases in weight. Thus, it is not yet clear whether the association between depression and being overweight can be explained by pubertal devel...

OBJECTIVE Functional somatic symptoms, symptoms for which no organic pathologic basis can be found, are more prevalent in girls than in boys, and this difference tends to increase during adolescence. This might be explained, at least in part, by pubertal development. We hypothesized that pubertal maturation predicts the development of most functional somatic symptoms and that this especially is...

High-intensity training can alter the normal pattern of pubertal development in elite gymnasts. We investigated sex hormones, the ob gene product leptin, body composition, nutrition, and eating habits in female and male elite gymnasts from national cadres to elucidate gender-related differences. Serum leptin levels were decreased, particularly in pubertal girls, and did not show the normal deve...

Endocrine disruptors have been eyed as potential drivers of a steady trend toward earlier puberty among girls worldwide in recent decades, particularly with regard to breast development. However, when the authors of a study in this issue of EHP evaluated serum levels of three common classes of hormonally active persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in relation to the timing of pubertal onset in ...

AIM To compare the attitudes and practices of a sample of veterinarians in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) towards pre-pubertal gonadectomy of cats. METHODS Respondents' demographics were gathered using an electronic questionnaire distributed via professional veterinary associations in the target countries, as were minimum age at gonadectomy and typical age of puberty. Desi...

STUDY QUESTION Do the ovarian follicles of children and adolescents differ in their morphology and in vitro growth potential from those of adults? SUMMARY ANSWER Pre-pubertal ovaries contained a high proportion of morphologically abnormal non-growing follicles, and follicles showed reduced capacity for in vitro growth. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The pre-pubertal ovary is known to contain follicl...

Background: Overweight perception has been shown to be important for health related adolescent behavior, particularly in girls. Body perception may be affected by bodily changes, especially changes visible for others. Female pubertal development is characterized by many physical changes, such as accelerated growth and altered body fat distribution. This study examined the role of appearance of ...

In 1996, the US Environmental Protection Agency was given a mandate by Congress to develop a screening program that would evaluate whether variously identified compounds could affect human health by mimicking or interfering with normal endocrine regulatory functions. Toward this end, the Agency chartered the Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee in October of that year th...

In the face of excellent survival rates for pediatric and adolescent cancer, preserving the opportunity to have biological children is an important component of long term quality of life. Yet, modern chemotherapeutic regimens continue to pose a threat to fertility. The only fertility preservation methods available to pre-pubertal children of both genders is cryopreservation of gonadal tissue, a...