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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Feb 28.
Published in final edited form as: Int J Obes (Lond). 2019 Aug 28;43(10):1978–1987. doi: 10.1038/s41366-019-0446-5

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Potential sources of increased estradiol (E2) responsible for earlier breast development in obese/overweight girls compared with normal weight girls. The ovary, once activated by the hypothalamic-pituitary unit, is the primary source of E2 during normal pubertal development. Adipose tissue expresses aromatase (aro) and adipocytes (yellow spheres) in peripubertal girls that reside either in the periphery or near the developing mammary epithelium may also influence systemic or local E2 exposure, respectively. Evidence to date, however, does not support a contribution of estrogen derived from adipose tissue in breast development in overweight/obese and normal weight girls. AD, androstenedione.