Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – A new study to be presented on Sunday at ENDO 2025 — the Endocrine Society’s annual conference in San Francisco, California — suggests that commonly used sweeteners in everyday foods and drinks may raise the likelihood of early puberty in children, particularly those with a genetic predisposition.
Aspartame, sucralose, glycyrrhizin, and added sugar consumption were noted by the researchers to be closely linked with an elevated risk of early-onset puberty. Children that had specific genetic markers showed a more potent correlation. The findings also displayed a dose-dependent pattern: the greater the sweeteners consumed, saw the increased likelihood of central precocious puberty (CPP).
Dr. Yang-Ching Chen of Taipei Municipal Wan Fang Hospital and Taipei Medical University indicated that this is among the first large-scale studies to tie modern eating patterns — especially the consumption of sweeteners — to both genetic risk and early puberty onset. She further indicated that it also brings attention to sex-based differences in how boys and girls respond to these substances, which is crucial for tailoring future health guidance.
CPP, a condition where puberty begins much earlier than normal, is becoming more prevalent. It is linked to various long-term concerns, such as emotional problems, reduced adult height, and an elevated risk of metabolic and reproductive health issues later in life.
Although the specific roots of CPP have not always been known, many factors have been found to be possible triggers. At certain times, the disorder might be believed to be linked to brain anomalies including tumors, trauma, or genetic alterations interfering with puberty’s normal progression. But most often, no particular cause is found, and the illness is categorized as idiopathic. The increasing cases of early puberty has also been attributed to environmental causes, that include exposure to chemicals that disrupt hormones, dietary changes, and obesity rates. For instance, earlier research has indicated that children with greater body mass indices (BMIs) may have earlier activation of the hormone pathways that trigger puberty. Furthermore, although the exact mechanisms are not known, stress, trauma, or socioeconomic conditions may occasionally impact when a child reaches puberty.
According to Chen’s prior research, some sweeteners may have a direct impact on gut microbiota and hormones linked to early puberty. For example, it has been found that the artificial sweetener acesulfame potassium, or AceK, elevates stress-related chemicals and activates “sweet taste” receptors in the brain, which in turn triggers the production of hormones linked to puberty. Glycyrrhizin, a natural chemical found in licorice, is another sweetener that has been demonstrated to alter the gut microbiota and lower the activity of some genes that trigger puberty.
Chen showed that these results indicate that children’s diets—particularly those that have sweeteners—could have a stronger and more unexpected impact on their growth and development than assumed on prior occasions.
The most recent insights are based on data from the Taiwan Pubertal Longitudinal Study (TPLS), launched in 2018.
Of the 1,407 teenagers whose data was examined, 481 had a diagnosis of CPP. Researchers used urine testing and validated dietary questionnaires to look into sugar use. Additionally, they applied polygenic risk scores based on 19 genes connected to early puberty to assess genetic susceptibility. Imaging investigations, hormone analyses, and clinical evaluations were applied to corroborate the diagnoses.
The findings showed that consuming sucralose was linked to a higher risk of central precocious puberty in boys, whereas the consumption of glycyrrhizin, sucralose, and added sugars was associated with a higher risk in girls.
“The findings are directly relevant to families, pediatricians and public health authorities,” added Chen. “They suggest that screening for genetic risk and moderating sweetener intake could help prevent early puberty and its long-term health consequences. This could lead to new dietary guidelines or risk assessment tools for children, supporting healthier development.”
