A study at the University of Brighton (UK) involved
3,000 girls and found that those who ate more meat were more likely
to start puberty earlier. Early puberty is thought to increase risk
of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and heart disease.
http://www.dailymai l.co.uk/health/ article-1285901/
Girls-high-meat- diet-likely- start-periods- early.
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By DANIEL MARTIN
12th June 2010
Research: Girls who start puberty early are believed to be
at higher risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and heart
disease
A diet high in meat may put girls at higher risk of breast cancer
and heart disease by bringing on early puberty, according to
scientists.
A study of 3,000 girls found that girls with higher intakes of meat
and protein were more likely to have started their periods by the
time they were 12 and a half.
Girls who start puberty early are believed to be at higher risk of
a number of diseases - including breast cancer, ovarian cancer and
heart disease.
The study, carried out at the University of Brighton in East
Sussex, found that 49 per cent of girls eating more than 12
portions of meat a week at the age of seven had started their
periods by 12 and a half.
This compares with just 35 per cent of girls who ate fewer than
four portions a week.
And three year olds who ate more than eight portions of meat a week
were also more likely to have early periods.
A portion is defined as the normal amount of meat a child would eat
in a full meal. A portion is therefore smaller for a 3 year old
child than for a 7 year old one.
A small meat-based snack such as a ham sandwich would only be
around half a portion, but a Sunday roast would include a full
portion.
However study author Dr Imogen Rogers, a senior lecturer at the
university's school of pharmacy, cautioned parents cutting meat out
of their daughters' diets.
'Meat is a good source of many important nutrients including iron
and zinc and there is no reason why girls should adopt a vegetarian
diet or that meat in moderation cannot form a valuable part of a
balanced diet for children,' she said.
Zinc and iron were both needed in high quantities during pregnancy,
she said, which suggests a diet rich in meat could prepare the body
for pregnancy. 'A meat-rich diet could be seen as indicating
suitable nutritional conditions for a successful pregnancy,' she
said.
She said the findings needed repeating in other populations before
firm recommendations on diet can be made.
But she added: 'These results add to the evidence that it is
healthiest to avoid diets containing very high amounts of
meat.'
The research, funded by the World Cancer Research Fund, was
published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
The average age at which girls start puberty fell dramatically over
the 20th century: perhaps reflecting easier access to meat. While
the average is now 12, although the average is now levelling
off.
Obesity is also a factor in the declining average age, but Dr
Rogers said it could not be the only one because the average age
was now no longer falling even though child obesity was on the
rise.
Early periods could be linked with breast cancer - possibly because
women are exposed to higher levels of oestrogen over their
lifetime.
Dr Ken Ong, paediatric endocrinologist at the Medical Research
Council, said there had been 'vast shifts' in the timing of first
periods over the past century.
He told the BBC that the link with meat consumption was a
'plausible' one.
'This was not related to larger body size, but rather could be due
to a more direct effect of dietary protein on the body's hormone
levels.'