At what age do children start to develop body odor (underarm odor)?

The age at which children begin to develop body odor is not fixed. Generally speaking, body odor (commonly known as bromhidrosis or osmidrosis) tends to appear during puberty. Specifically, girls may enter puberty around 10–12 years of age, while boys usually do so somewhat later, around 12–14 years. During this stage, hormonal changes cause the sweat glands to become more active, producing more sweat. If this sweat develops an odor due to bacterial action, symptoms of body odor may occur. Each child's growth and development speed and hormonal changes vary, so the age at which body odor appears may also differ. In addition, the occurrence of body odor is also related to multiple factors such as heredity, environment, and diet. If parents have body odor, the likelihood of their child having body odor increases. Therefore, parents need to carefully observe their child's physical changes. Once body odor symptoms are detected in the child, timely measures should be taken for intervention and treatment.