China is warning children to wake up too early

An 8-year-old boy with a bushy hat, an elementary school girl who looks like a teenager, stands in a long line of strange babies waiting outside the early puberty clinic at Chongqing Children's Hospital. , Beijing, China.

"Puberty is soon becoming a common problem," said Dr. Lei Peiyun of the hospital. He said that for every 100 patients who come here every day during the summer break, up to 30 are in early puberty, and 60% of them are girls.

Lei also released data showing an increase in the number of children who developed early in recent years: If 1990, when the hospital went into operation, the number of patients was only 20 to 30 per year, then by 1998, this number had jumped to 300, and increased to 1,000 in 2004. This year, it is expected to be 2,000 children.

Puberty, before the age of 8 in girls and 10 in boys, is considered to be sexually mature. This early ripening prevents children from developing a normal body, and it causes psychological problems such as fear and embarrassment.

Why do children get up too early?

One of the answers is due to food, Dr. Lei said.

These children were raised with animal meat, such as chickens, eels, tonic, canned food, colostrum of cows, as well as cooked vegetables.

Excessive consumption of hormones, antibiotics and additives in food as well as supplements is a direct cause of the disease. In addition, increasing exposure to gender information in the media is also considered an additional factor.

Doctors believe that clean foods without supplements, unless advised by a doctor, may help reduce this situation in the future.

T. An