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Why do boys and girls experience puberty differently?

Why do boys and girls experience puberty differently?

Testosterone is the hormone that causes most of the changes in a boy’s body during puberty, and men need sperm to be able to reproduce (be the father of a baby). In girls, these hormones target the two ovaries (say: OH-vuh-reez), which contain eggs that have been in the girl’s body since she was born.

Why are girls taller than boys at first?

What’s going on? Well, girls get a head start on puberty — and growing taller — because they usually start these changes between the ages of 8 and 13. Most boys, on the other hand, don’t begin until between the ages of 9 and 14. So that’s why girls are often taller than boys during that time.

Why do girls and boys grow at different rates?

Growth rates change during puberty, when hormones start the process of physical changes in teens, which occur at different individual rates and at different ages within their gender group. This is the reason girls are often taller than boys of the same age in early adolescence.

At what age are girls usually taller and heavier than boys?

Girls are taller and heavier than boys from about 9-10 to 13-14 yrs because their growth spurt starts earlier. Once boys begin to spurt however, they catch up with and surpass the girls becoming both taller and heavier.

Are there physical differences between boys and girls?

Some of these changes are common to both sexes, but most are sex-specific. Boys have a great increase in muscle size and strength, together with a series of physiological changes making them capable of doing heavier physical work than girls and of running faster and longer.

When does body fat decrease in boys and girls?

At adolescence the limb fat in boys decreases, while the body fat shows a temporary slowing down of gain but no actual loss. In girls there is a slight halting of the limb-fat gain at adolescence, but no loss; the trunk fat shows only a steady rise until adolescence. At puberty, a considerable alteration in growth rate occurs.

How much weight do you gain in middle childhood?

On average, the steady growth of middle childhood results in an increase in height of a little over 2 inches a year in both boys and girls. Weight gain aver­ages about 6.5 pounds a year.

When do boys and girls get taller during puberty?

Although boys and girls are generally of similar height during middle child­hood, that changes with the beginning of puberty. Particularly in junior high school, girls are often taller than their male classmates, but within a year or two, boys catch up and usually surpass their female classmates.