July 14 (UPI) -- Sugar and artificial sweeteners might increase the risk of early puberty in children, a new study says. Sugar, aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda) and glycyrrhizin (licorice root) are all significantly associated with a higher risk of early puberty, particularly in genetically predisposed children, researchers reported Sunday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco. Further, the more of these sweeteners that children consumed, the greater their risk of