New Delhi: According to a leading medical journal, girls who consume a lot of sweetened drinks enter into their puberty period at an early stage. They start menstruating at a much younger age. This report is crucial as onset of menstruation leads to a higher risk of breast cancer in later life.
Researchers monitored the health of over 5,500 American girls born between 1996 and 2001 for the journal Human Reproduction.
Around 17,000 children had also been involved in the research. Girls aged between nine and 14 joined the project (they had not yet entered puberty stage).
During the five-year study, investigators discovered that those girls who drank between one-and-a-half servings of sweetened drinks per day had their first period 2.7 months earlier than those who had two or fewer sweet drinks a week.
“Our study adds to increasing concern about the widespread consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks in the USA and elsewhere,” said Karin Michels of Harvard Medical School.
The average age for first menstruation is 12 years and seven months. Onset menstruation increases chances of breast cancer by five percent.
