The health risks of maturing early(Image credit: BBC/Getty Images)Girls are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages — but how society responds is having a lasting effect on their health.I remember the first time a stranger openly gawked at my bare legs. It was the summer before I turned 11; I was at a small convenience store near our home. The man stood behind my mother and me at the checkout line, staring me up and down. He looked the same age as my father. But it wasn’t friendliness I detected in his eyes.As a young girl who developed early and looked older than my age, my mind...…The health risks of maturing early(Image credit: BBC/Getty Images)Girls are reaching puberty at younger and younger ages — but how society responds is having a lasting effect on their health.I remember the first time a stranger openly gawked at my bare legs. It was the summer before I turned 11; I was at a small convenience store near our home. The man stood behind my mother and me at the checkout line, staring me up and down. He looked the same age as my father. But it wasn’t friendliness I detected in his eyes.As a young girl who developed early and looked older than my age, my mind...WW…