High-meat diet linked to early puberty in girls
Girls who regularly eat meat may be more likely to go through puberty at an early age, new research suggests.
Scientists at the University of Brighton studied 3,000 girls, all of whom were taking part in the Children of 90s study in Bristol.
They found that girls who ate the most meat between the ages of three and seven were more likely to have started their periods by the age of 12 than those who rarely ate meat.
Nearly half (49 per cent) of girls who ate more than 12 portions of meat per week at the age of seven had started their periods by the time they were 12 years old, compared with just 35 per cent of those who ate fewer than four weekly portions.
Dr Imogen Rogers, a senior lecturer at the University of Brighton's School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, commented: 'These results add to the evidence that it is healthiest to avoid diets containing very high amounts of meat.'
However, she emphasised that meat is a good source of many nutrients and insisted that 'there is no reason why girls should adopt a vegetarian diet or that meat in moderation cannot form a valuable part of a balanced diet for children'.
The study, which is published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, was funded by the World Cancer Research Fund.
Health experts at the charity advise adults to eat no more than 500g of red meat per week, and to avoid processed meat.
This is because a high intake of red and processed meat has been linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer.
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