I don't know how to make the relative ages much more specific either... usually more than about 2 years difference is excessive for people under 16, in my opinion...
I know that added hormones/hormone mimics are a problem, but in fact I think it is as much our lifestyles as our eating habits in developed countries, especially for girls. Girls don't usually get their period until they reach 90lbs or so (and I think a certain body fat ratio) because they need to be large enough to carry a baby to term. Therefor, the change from kids not getting enough food or getting enough food to kids getting enough food to too much food that has occurred in first world countries is also a factor. Also, we are more sedentary which means a higher body fat ratio which also contributes to this. For example, I had lots of milk as a kid, but I was a active and small for my age until about 12 or 13 when I started to catch up. This means that even though I'm sure that I was exposed to more hormones, I did not have my period until I was nearly 15 because of my weight and body fat ratio.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-06-09 11:54 pm (UTC)I know that added hormones/hormone mimics are a problem, but in fact I think it is as much our lifestyles as our eating habits in developed countries, especially for girls. Girls don't usually get their period until they reach 90lbs or so (and I think a certain body fat ratio) because they need to be large enough to carry a baby to term. Therefor, the change from kids not getting enough food or getting enough food to kids getting enough food to too much food that has occurred in first world countries is also a factor. Also, we are more sedentary which means a higher body fat ratio which also contributes to this. For example, I had lots of milk as a kid, but I was a active and small for my age until about 12 or 13 when I started to catch up. This means that even though I'm sure that I was exposed to more hormones, I did not have my period until I was nearly 15 because of my weight and body fat ratio.