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Kids are growing up faster because of nutritious food and access to pornography, doctors claim.
The number of children experiencing the early onset of puberty has doubled over the past 10 years, according to a survey analyzing children's endocrine diseases by the Women and Children's Hospital of Guangdong Province.
The survey found the average age for the onset of puberty of Guangzhou's children dropped to 11 years old from the previous age of 13.
Based on those figures, the frequency of earlier puberty among children in Guangzhou also rose to 1.3 percent this year, from 0.5 percent 10 years ago. This is 0.3 percent higher than the national average.
This means that in some cases, boys as young as nine-and-a-half, and girls as young as eight are developing secondary sexual characteristics.
"There are a few reasons why more children are experiencing the early onset of puberty," said Zeng Ke, a senior doctor at the incretion department of the Women and Children's Hospital of Guangdong Province.
He said Guangzhou's citizens have a rich diet, including nourishing soups, seafood and animal innards.
Parents also give their children supplements, such as deer antler and ginseng extracts.
These foods, Zeng said, are high in protein or essential elements and accelerate children's growth.
"Western fast foods, such as burgers and fries from McDonalds or KFC, are favored by children and can increase their development," Li Wangen, a doctor at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, said.
The other reason for early development is improper sex education, Zeng said. Children have easy access to books, movies or music that are pornographic.
If parents do not protect their children from exposure to pornographic material they will become sexually precocious, Zeng said.
The survey found the number of children with the onset of early puberty was less in rural areas than in the city.
医学专家称，由于饮食营养丰富以及接触色情资料，如今的儿童开始早熟。
据广东省妇幼医院一项有关儿童内分泌疾病的调查显示，早熟儿童的数量在过去十年中翻了一番。
调查发现，广州儿童进入青春期的平均年龄从之前的13岁下降到了11岁。
此外，数据表明，广州儿童的早熟率从十年前的0.5%上升到了今年的1.3%，高出全国平均水平0.3%。
也就是说，在某些情况下，9岁半的男孩和8岁的女孩便会开始出现第二性特征。
广东省妇幼医院内分泌科高级医师曾可说：“有一些因素造成了性早熟儿童增多。”
他说，广州人饮食丰富，人们常摄入滋补汤、海鲜和动物内脏。
家长也不忘给孩子们进补，让他们吃鹿茸、人参精华等营养品。
曾医师说，这些食物里富含蛋白质及生命必需元素，能够加速儿童的生长发育。
广州医学院第二附属医院的李万根医生说：“麦当劳、肯德基的汉堡和炸薯条等洋快餐深受儿童喜爱，而这种食物会使他们发育增快。”
曾医师说，导致儿童早熟的另一个原因是性教育不当。现在的孩子很容易接触到色情书刊、色情电影和音乐。
他说，父母应采取措施使孩子免受色情侵害，防止孩子性早熟。
调查发现，农村地区早熟儿童的数量要少于城市。
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