Genetic
makeup may now be able to tell us if a
person is still a virgin or not. According to an epidemiologist at Cambridge
University by the name of Ken Ong, genes influence that ages of first sexual
intercourse and first child birth.” The genes influence by expressing on both
personality and physical traits. He concluded this information after analyzing
genetic data of hundreds of thousands of people. For decades, scientists have
correlated puberty to genetic factors. However, the results of the study found
a moderate genetic component for both analyzing the age of both sexual
intercourse and first child birth yet, it was not found to be a cause and
effect relationship. With the data gathered on about 400,000 people in the U.S,
Iceland and the United Kingdom, it was also concluded that several genetic
factors were linked to the age of first intercourse, first childbirth, and
number of offspring as well as age of puberty. Researchers found a correlation
of obese children reaching puberty faster as well. Still, to further explain
the genetic factors that influence this, scientists found that there are
certain genes that increase the drive of sexual activity in individuals of a
certain age group specifically teenagers.
To sum
things up a bit, the main findings in this study really came down to finding a
huge correspondence between teenage behaviors resulting from a contribution of
our genes and the environment that surrounds us. Like Ong stated, this finding
can alert many children and parents of teenagers to strive to find safe ways to
avoid children starting puberty at young ages. However, other researchers still
ponder about other factors that could potentially affect the commencement of
puberty. Some of these factors mentioned include one’s diet and lifestyle. This
seems to be a matter of nature vs. nurture where biological factors may be in
competence with one’s norms.
