Have you ever wondered why girls of today start their menses early as compared to the girls of the previous generations? Today’s girls are less active as compared before. More have become couch potatoes and just spend their leisure times at home either watching television or playing their favorite computer games. While doing these activities, they eat junk foods, sodas, chocolates, and other unhealthy foods which make these girls to weigh more than they should.   

Childhood obesity has become so rampant now a days. This is not a good thing because obesity makes these children prone to acquire diseases  like hypertension, diabetes, and even cancer. With girls, obesity leads to menstruate earlier than they should. This is because when a girl is obese; her secondary sex characteristics develop earlier like budding of the breasts, growth of body hairs, and widening of the hips. These factors all lead to the girl starting menstruation as early as eight years old which is way earlier than what is expected. A girl normally menstruates at the age of 11- 12 years old.

Early menstruation is not good for a girl’s health. It makes her prone to have diseases such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer. Those girls who menstruate early may also suffer from emotional problems. They will feel different from their classmates and playmates because they already have bigger and appear mature than their peers. This can make them feel depressed and turn into substance abuse to cope with the emotional turmoil they are feeling. Girls who menstruate early tend to engage in premarital sex especially if they are already starting to use harmful substances like alcohol and drugs. Of course, since your daughter is already menstruating, she can also get pregnant at this time and become a mother at a very young age.

As parents it is your primary responsibility to help your kids have the best health possible. If you have daughters, see to it that they are eating healthy and are physically active so that being overweight and obese can be prevented. This is not just because being obese is not good to look at, but mainly because you want her to be healthy and avoid the consequences of weighing too much, early menstruation included. It is also important that your daughter knows the importance of having a healthy weight and why is it essential in preventing the occurrence of some conditions. In this way your daughter will understand and cooperate in promoting a healthier lifestyle for herself.