Puberty's Early Onset

An Ithaca College professor has written a disturbing report about the early onset of puberty in girls. Not only is it arriving earlier in many girls; puberty is being extended.

As if growing up weren't hard enough, a new report published by San Francisco's Breast Cancer Fund says girls, particularly African American girls, are hitting puberty earlier — and it's lasting longer.

Environmental toxins, obesity, and psychological stressors are all cited as possible reasons for the trend in the report written by Ithaca College profesSsor Sandra Steingraber. It was commissioned about a year ago to put together what she calls "pieces of a big jigsaw puzzle."