Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about female puberty.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash puberty.

Or in the reproductive system section of the zero to finalsfinals, obstetrics and gynecology

book.

Let's get straight into it.

In childhood, girls have relatively little GnRH, LH, FSAH, estrogen and progesterone hormones in their

system.

During puberty, these hormones start to increase sequentially,

causing the development of female secondary sexual characteristics,

the onset of the menstrual cycle and the ability to conceive children.

Puberty normally starts aged 8 to 14 in girls and 9 to 15 in boys.

It takes about four years from start to finish.

Girls have their pubertal growth spurt earlier in puberty than boys.

Overweight children tend to end puberty at an earlier age.

Aromatase is an enzyme that's found in adipose or fat tissue

and it's important for the creation of estrogen.

Therefore the more adipose tissue or the more fat tissue is present

the higher the quantity of the enzyme responsible for estrogen

creation, aromatase.

There may be delayed puberty in girls with a low birth weight, chronic diseases, or eating

disorders, and also in athletes.

In girls, puberty starts with a development of the breast buds,

...