According to a team of investigators in the United Kingdom, at the University of Brighton, it would appear that girls who have a diet featuring a lot of meat tend to hit puberty faster than their peers who consume much less of the stuff. The researchers believe that this is one of the main reasons why girls today tend to reach puberty a lot faster than their peers living 100 years ago did. The new investigation is very important, because previous studies have determined that these young women are at higher risk of developing various forms of cancer, as well as heart disease. Therefore, gaining new insight into these correlations could help reduce the incidence of these fatal diseases.
“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. These results add to the evidence that it is healthiest to avoid diets containing very high amounts of meat,” explains University of Brighton School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences senior lecturer Dr Imogen Rogers, the leader of the new investigation.
The expert, however, recommends that the conclusions of the research be reassessed in a study containing a large study sample. For these investigations, the UB group looked at more than 3,000 girls in the UK, but a representative population sample is a lot larger. More diverse and profound studies could also help public healthcare experts draw more suitable conclusions on which to base their diet recommendations for this age group. The work was funded by the World Cancer Research Fund, and details appear in the latest issue of the esteemed scientific journal Public Health Nutrition. The raw material for the investigation was collected from the
University of Bristol's Children of the 90s study.
It was additional revealed that the diets young girls have during their early years can be a clear indicator of their health risks over the coming years. The team discovered that about 49 percent of test participants that consumed more than 12 portions of meat per day had already hit puberty by the age of 12 and a half years. Conversely, only 35 percent of girls that ate less than 4 portions of meat per week did so. The ages of three and seven years old were identified as critical times for serving meat, and the new study would indicate parents to reduce the amount of meat protein they serve their children during these times.
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