Nutritional Habits and Precocious Puberty in Girls: A Pilot Study

Aim:Precocious puberty (PP) is defined as the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics before the age of nine in boys or eight in girls. Due to changing socio-economic conditions, nutritional habits and environmental factors, the onset of normal puberty is being seen at younger ages these days. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits and environmental factors in cases that presented to or were being followed up by the Child Endocrinology Clinic with symptoms of PP.Materials and Methods:The study group included 50 girls aged 2-8 years who presented with symptoms of PP and whose diagnosis was being monitored. A survey noting food consumption was made recording the girls’ dietary habits, fast food consumption and frequency, information about their health, physical activity (PA) and environmental factors using a 24-hour-recall technique.Results:The mean age of the girls was 7.1±0.9 years. According to body mass index z-scores, 62.0% of the girls were overweight [(≥+1 standard deviation (SD)], 34.0% were normal (≥+1 SD - <+1 SD) and 4.0% were underweight. There was a statistically significant difference between the girls’ levels of activity and their mean ages (p