Health experts are predicting that the age at which girls will enter puberty and start menstruating is reducing at an alarming rate.
Puberty refers to the period during which children aged between 10 to 19 (adolescents) reach sexual maturity and become capable of reproduction.
According to written science, girls and boys are supposed to enter puberty between the ages of 13 and 15 years of age.
However, due to changes in lifestyles, doctors warn that the age at which girls enter puberty is likely to reduce to as low as six or seven years in the future.
Dr Sabrina Kitaka, a senior pediatrician who also runs an adolescent clinic says this should not worry parents. She says that is it normal for girls to start puberty at an early age.
According to Dr Kitaka, the early onset of puberty can be caused by having excess fats in the body.
She however warns that parents should seek medical help if their children start puberty below the age of six for girls.
According to Kitaka, the youngest patient that has been treated at Mulago for premature puberty, which occurs to children below the age of 8, was a two-year-old who is currently on treatment.
The condition is treated by suppressing the hormones using a monthly injection.
Dr Kitaka however says that in boys, the early onset of puberty below the age of nine years
Dr Kitaka says parents need to start talking to their children about sexuality early so that children know what to expect as they grow.
