Researchers are presenting early puberty as a risk factor to obesity linking greater BMI to girls who experience their first menstrual cycle earlier than usual in this study, reinforcing research conducting in the past that female adult body weight is associated with puberty onset.
Previous studies struggle to establish a link, as factors such as ethnicity, diet, economic background, and educational attainment can skew data. Researchers used genetic variants to correct data in this study to reduce confounding factor impact.
182,416 females participated in the conduction of this study with 122 genetic variants, with results suggesting a strong connection between age of first menstrual cycle and the development of obesity.
Analyzation of genetic variant impacts on the age at menarche with BMI was conducted in a separate investigation involving 80,465 female participants whose measurements for BMI were recorded. Mendelian Randomization method was used to observe genetic variants related to drug targets for stroke and cardiovascular disease.
It is uncertain how exactly early onset of puberty affects body weight, research suggests differences in emotional and physical maturity may play a role. Puberty experienced at an earlier age can cause young girls to experience social difficulties and pressure, physical effects caused by hormonal adjustments which include fat deposition in breast tissue may be another part of the explanation as earlier incidence can increase risk of obesity and higher BMI as an adult.
Researchers conducted a range of statistical sensitivity analyses to test robustness of findings which remained strong throughout, within study limitations of design they are confident of findings that it is more than likely that young girls who reach puberty early are more likely to be overweight when they are adults later in life.
