PARIS (AFP) - Girls who consume lots of sugary drinks start menstruating at a younger age, a study said on Wednesday.
The findings are important because early onset of menstruation is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in later life, the paper said, although other experts saw flaws in the probe.
Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, researchers said they had monitored the health of more than 5,500 American girls between 1996 and 2001. They had been part of a wider study involving nearly 17,000 children. The girls were aged between nine and 14 when they joined the project and had not yet started their periods.
During the five-year study, those who drank between 1.5 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, the investigators found. The earlier menstruation occurred regardless of the girls' height-to-weight ratio - their body mass index (BMI) - their calorie intake and exercise.
The findings are important because early onset of menstruation is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in later life, the paper said, although other experts saw flaws in the probe.
Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, researchers said they had monitored the health of more than 5,500 American girls between 1996 and 2001. They had been part of a wider study involving nearly 17,000 children. The girls were aged between nine and 14 when they joined the project and had not yet started their periods.
During the five-year study, those who drank between 1.5 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, the investigators found. The earlier menstruation occurred regardless of the girls' height-to-weight ratio - their body mass index (BMI) - their calorie intake and exercise.
