女生越来越早熟？ Girls Starting 1)Puberty Earlier
语音:美式发音 适合讨论
语速:160词/分钟
关键词:girls, puberty, seven, BMI
Parents are often concerned that their daughters may be starting puberty too soon, and a new study actually confirms that fact. Girls are starting puberty as young as seven years of age.
父母常担心他们的女儿发育过早,而最新的研究结果显示如今的女孩子确实发育提前。现在有的女孩子早在七岁就已经开始发育。
It’s not exactly clear why girls are starting puberty earlier. Certainly there are a lot of genetic factors involved, but also there are some environmental considerations: maybe too many 2)hormones or chemicals that act like hormones inside the body. There’s also a chemical called BPA, or Bisphenol A, that may be found in some plastic products. It’s thought that this chemical can 3)leach out of the plastic and go into girls’ bodies and 4)mimic the effects of hormones and cause puberty to start early.
造成女孩发育过早的具体原因仍不明确。当然,这与众多基因因素有关,但也不可忽略环境因素:女孩体内积聚了过多的荷尔蒙,或具备荷尔蒙功效的化学物质。有一种叫BPA(即双酚A)的化学成分可以在一些塑料产品中找到。有观点认为塑料产品释放出的BPA一旦进入女孩体内,就会扮演荷尔蒙的角色,从而导致女孩提早发育。
Race may also play an important factor. Whereas about 10% of white girls may start puberty around seven years of age, the number is higher in 5)Hispanics at 15% and even higher in African-American girls at about 23%. But now the study shows that white girls are starting to reach puberty earlier as well.
不同人种也许也会有发育迟早方面的差异。大约10%的白种女孩七岁左右开始发育,西班牙裔人中七岁发育的比例为15%,而非裔美国人则高达23%。然而研究数据发现,白种女孩现在也开始提早发育了。
One way to avoid early puberty may be to make sure that your daughter’s 6)BMI is within a normal range. And you can do that by encouraging her to exercise on a regular basis and eat a very healthy diet.
预防女孩子过早发育的方法之一也许就是将她们的体重指数控制在正常范围之内,可以鼓励她们经常锻炼,健康膳食。
Comments 观点参考
★ Girls who begin puberty sooner than normal experience an early growth spurt and are taller than their peers at first. But because their bones stop growing after puberty, they never reach their full height potential.
★ Girls who develop earlier tend to become sexually active earlier and become at higher risk for things like teen-age pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
★ There is also an increased risk of breast cancer with early puberty, because estrogen[雌激素] production starts sooner and breast tissue is exposed to the hormone for a longer period of time.