November 2/Hackensack, N.J./The Republic -- Researchers studying the environmental causes of early puberty detected hormone-disrupting chemicals in four out of five healthy New Jersey girls, but evidence shows the substances do not necessarily promote early development.
The Jersey Girl Study at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey is among the first to look at the effects on healthy girls of Zeranol, a synthetic chemical used to boost meat production, and its natural form, zearalenone, a fungus found in contaminated grains. These fungi mimic estrogen in the body.