It may seem like children are developing earlier than usual, and that's because they are. Today's children are entering puberty earlier than ever before. It's unclear exactly why this happens, although there are many hypotheses. One theory is that foods and other components, such as hormones, cause early puberty. Precocious puberty is a medical term describing puberty occurring at an early age. Another possible answer could be the dramatic increase in childhood obesity. Milk consumption is traditionally blamed for causing premature growth in adolescents. However, there are no facts directly linking milk to early puberty. Previous studies lacked the consistency to obtain accurate results, but more recent studies come closer to answering this question but depend on the variables. Puberty is defined as the beginning of sexual maturity. This is the period during which a child changes physically, hormonally, sexually and is able to reproduce. For girls, puberty begins around age ten or eleven and ends around age sixteen. Boys enter puberty later than girls, usually around age twelve, and this lasts until about sixteen or seventeen (Parents and Teachers: Adolescent Growth and Development, Years 11-14) . Early puberty means breast or testicle development, menstrual bleeding, pubic and underarm hair, body odor, and increased growth rate earlier than normal. In girls, puberty is generally considered too early if it begins at age seven or eight. African American and Hispanic girls tend to begin puberty a little earlier than Caucasian girls. In boys, puberty is generally considered too early, before the age of nine (Adkins, Deanna and Dennis Clements). Most cases of precocious puberty have no known cause. S...... middle of paper......contamination affects puberty.Work citedAdkins, Deanna and Dennis Clements. “When is puberty too early?” Duke Health. Np, April 13, 2011. Web. December 7, 2013. Baker R. “Body weight and the initiation of puberty.” PubMed. US National Library of Medicine, September 28, 1985. Web. December 8, 2013. Kwok, Sun K., Gabriel M. Leung, Tai H. Lam, and Catherine M. Schooling. “Breastfeeding, milk consumption in children and the onset of puberty”. PubMed. US National Library of Medicine, August 20, 2012. Web. December 8, 2013. “Myth: Drinking milk causes early puberty. » Healthy eating. Dairy Council of California, nd Web. December 8, 2013. “Parents and Teachers: Adolescent Growth and Development, Grades 11-14.” Parents and Teachers: Adolescent Growth and Development. Palo Alto Medical Foundation, nd Web. December 08, 2013.Ridley, Kim. “‘Early puberty’ is on the rise. »Alternet. Np, and Web. Dec 08.. 2013.