Puberty is on setting earlier than in previous generations and scientists think they may have found the reason: Watching television prohibits the production of melatonin, which delays puberty.
The Week reports that a study conducted by researchers at Italy's University of Florence discovered that when kids sat in front of the tube at least three hours a day, they had less production of the sleep hormone. But they also found their bodies produced 30 percent more of it after a week with no TV.
"What's interesting about this study is that it's stripping TV entirely away from the content," said Syracuse University's Robert Thompson. "This isn't about bad, indecent, or sexual programming. It's about the totally neutral impact of the medium itself."
When kids are exposed to the artificial light from a television screen - particularly during nighttime hours - their bodies suppress melatonin production.
Various studies say that approximately 19 percent of eight-year-old girls in Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. have already begun puberty, whereas just one generation ago only one percent had.
More of the same story at New Scientist.
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