The average age for girls to start puberty is 11, while for boys the average age is 12. But it's perfectly normal for puberty to begin at any point between the ages of 8 and 13 in girls and 9 and 14 in boys.
This wide range in age is normal, and it's why you may develop several years earlier (or later) than most of your friends. Sometimes, though, people pass this normal age range for puberty without showing any signs of body changes. This is called delayed puberty.
Sometimes these changes are known as a second puberty. It can happen in your 20s, 30s, and your 40s and throughout your lifetime. Knowing what to expect as the body ages can help make a second puberty much easier to manage.
Puberty that happens late is called delayed puberty. This means a child's physical signs of sexual maturity don't appear by age 12 in girls or age 14 in boys. This includes breast growth, pubic hair, and voice changes. These are known as secondary sexual characteristics.
Causes of Delayed Puberty
Most cases of delayed puberty are not an actual health problem. Some kids just develop later than others - what we call a “late bloomer.” This has a medical name: “Constitutional Delay of Growth and Puberty.” In many of these cases, late puberty runs in the family.
Your body continues to change in your 20s, and well into your 30s (though maybe not as dramatically as before).
Delayed puberty may also negatively affect adult psychosocial functioning and educational achievement, and individuals with a history of delayed puberty carry a higher risk for metabolic and cardiovascular disorders.
Stage 5 is the final phase. Development typically ends in this stage. Girls reach physical adulthood. Pubic hair may extend out to their thighs, and some girls may have a line of hair up to their belly button.
Most boys with constitutional delayed puberty are short compared with their peers, but because they have a delayed growth spurt, they usually catch up to other boys by the time they are 18 and have heights in the normal range as adults.
The term “late bloomer” refers to a child who goes through puberty later than their peers. Constitutional growth delay, the medical term for this condition, runs in families. Late bloomers will catch up on their growth and have standard adult height, although it may take a little extra time and patience.
An adolescent may expect to grow several inches in several months followed by a period of very slow growth, then will typically have another growth spurt.
While the entire process takes several years, there are five stages of puberty that children assigned males at birth go through. Puberty tends to begin later for males than females, and typically starts between age 9 and 14.
There's not usually any need to worry if puberty does not start around the average age, but it's a good idea to speak to your GP for advice if it starts before 8 or has not started by around 14. In some cases, early puberty or delayed puberty could be a sign of an underlying condition that may need to be treated.
Delayed puberty can be caused by an underlying medical condition (e.g., celiac disease or a hormone deficiency). There's often a hereditary component to delayed puberty. If a parent was late in starting puberty, it's more likely that his or her child might be, too.
In time, puberty will begin on its own. If delayed puberty is due to a disease, such as underactive thyroid gland, treating it may help puberty to develop normally. Hormone therapy may help start puberty if: Puberty fails to develop.
Some medical problems can cause delays in puberty: Some kids and teens with chronic illnesses like diabetes, cystic fibrosis, kidney disease, or even asthma may go through puberty at an older age. That's because their illnesses can make it harder for their bodies to grow and develop.
It's not uncommon for girls and boys to develop as late as 13, 14 or 15. But if your child hasn't yet shown the signs of puberty by age 14 for girls or 15 for boys, delayed puberty could be to blame. Keep in mind that delayed puberty is nothing to be overly concerned about. Everyone develops differently.
Second puberty is a slang term that refers to the changes we go through once we reach our twenties which resemble much of the first time our bodies started to develop when we were younger. These changes include: Normal weight gain due to increase in body fat compared to teen years. Experiencing adult acne.
Finally, some girls fail to start puberty because of a lack of the pituitary hormones LH and FSH, also called gonadotropins. This can occur when there are other pituitary deficiencies as well, including growth hormone, or it can be an isolated finding (particularly in a girl who is delayed but not short).
Description. Kallmann syndrome is a condition characterized by delayed or absent puberty and an impaired sense of smell. This disorder is a form of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, which is a condition resulting from a lack of production of certain hormones that direct sexual development.