Boys Mature Sexually Earlier Than Ever Before, Max Planck Institute Study

Researchers say boys are becoming physically mature earlier than ever before -- noting that males have been reaching sexual maturity about 2.5 months earlier every decade since at least the mid-1700s. "The reason for earlier maturity for boys, as with girls, is probably because nutrition and disease environments are getting more favorable for it," demographer Joshua Goldstein, director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany explained in an institute news release. The new study concluded that the span of time in which people are sexually mature (but not yet considered adults) is expanding. The authors noted that the cause of this early physical maturity is purely biological and has nothing to do with technological advancements or social activities.