A new study suggests that obesity may cause early puberty to girls. Girls with higher BMIs develop breasts earlier than those with normal weight.

Aside from the well-known effects of obesity, such as diabetes, high blood cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other cardiovascular disease, another reason to combat obesity has been revealed in a study.

Dr. Frank Biro, lead author of the study and a pediatrics professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, found that obesity is a predisposing factor for early puberty for girls.

In 2004 to 2011, Biro and his colleagues followed 1,200 girls with ages between six and eight in the cities of Cincinnati, San Francisco, and New York. The team thoroughly tracked their Body Mass Index (BMI) and their maturation process.

They found out that girls with BMIs of 85 to 95 percent developed breasts at the age of 8.5, while girls with a BMI of less than 50 percent has started to developed breasts at the age of 10.

The researchers stated in their study that though it all boils down to earlier onset, the figures differ with race: Asian girls start at an average of 9.7 years of age, Hispanic girls start at 9.3 years of age, and black girls start at 8.8 years of age.

It has been highlighted that the digit of black girls in the first grade who has experienced early breast development tripled in the past 15 years.

At the moment, 18 percent of black girls in the first grade already have breast buds, and as they step on their third grade, the percentage increases to 38 percent. White girls in their first grade, on the other hand, totaled to four percent and as they reach their third grade, it will balloon to 21 percent.

The study took note only of the breast development and not the start of menstruation.

Biro told NBC News, “Parents of these early maturing kids have to be more watchful,” he said. “But I don’t want to have a nation of patients with eating disorders. We need to figure out what are healthy weights for our kids. We want them to be comfortable with their bodies.”

Untimely puberty can greatly affect the kids particularly their self-esteem, confidence, depression, and their perception on early sexual activity.

The study was published in the Nov. 4 issue of the online journal Pediatrics.