We’re Getting Healthier. Period. :
Is there a positive social change agent behind teen pregnancy?
Maybe.
Better health is causal factor behind the biological capability to become pregnant. Quick refresher course for those who slept through biology:
Androgens released during adrenarche causea the secretion of hormones (estrogen) at the onset of puberty. Estrogen causes thelarche, the visible indicator of estrogen secretion (yes a fancy word for %u2018boobs%u2019). There are other possible indicators of estrogen secretion including body fat distribution and bone maturation and other correlates with the start of puberty, such as body water content and critical lean body weight.Therefore, healthier girls have their first period at a younger age and worldwide we have seen a decline in the age of menarche accompanying improved nutrition and sanitation.
According to David Weil, in South Korea, the average age dropped from 16.8 to 12.7 between 1958 and 1998.
While few would argue that a pregnant twelve year-old a positive change, that girls are healthy enough to be biologically capable of carrying a child is an improvement.
In the recent study %u2018Accounting for the Effect of Health on Economic Growth%u2018 microeconomic estimates of the effect of health on individual outcomes were used to construct macroeconomic estimates of the proximate effect of health on GDP per capita.
Based on this study, the average age of menarche dropped from about 17 to 12.8 during the period 1830-1962. The rate of decline was 4 months per decade.
While, %u201CThe most widely held belief is that the trend has occurred due to improved nutrition. Children today are bigger and heavier than in the past. Improved nutrition allows for normal growth. Lower classes and rural children have also seen a drop in the age of onset of puberty.%u201D
So, it%u2019s important to keep in mind possible other causes such as natural selection (genetic isolates), less disease,
fat kids obesity (since the onset of menarche has a correlation with the body fat percentage), chemicals which mimic sex hormones (DDE, PCBs and phthalates), and hormones in meat and dairy products.
And this:
65 girls pregnant at one high school: video games to blame? – Joystiq – www.joystiq.com:
65 out of 490 young ladies who attend Timkin High School in Canton, Ohio are preggers, and video games may be to blame, according to a local Ohio newspaper, which had this to say on the subject:
Whose fault is it that more than 13 percent of Timken%u2019s girls are with child? Some would say fault-finding isn%u2019t a fruitful exercise, but in this case, it%u2019s critical. Suspects range from movies, TV and video games to lazy parents and lax discipline. Only one thing is sure: Schools don%u2019t impregnate children.
Hey, I%u2019m just a blogger and not a doctor, but I thought for sure that games can%u2019t impregnate children either.