Girls using steroids to look toned, sculpted
National Institute on Drug Abuse steroid site:
http://www.steroidabuse.org
The Hormone Foundation steroid site:
http://www.hormone.org/learn/abuse.html
By Linda A. Johnson
Associated Press
Trenton, N.J. =97 An alarming number of American girls, some as young as
9, are using bodybuilding steroids =97 not necessarily to get an edge on
the playing field, but to get the toned, sculpted look of models and
movie stars, experts say.
Girls are getting their hands on the same dangerous testosterone pills,
shots and creams that have created a scandal in major league baseball
and other sports.
Often, these are the same girls who have eating disorders, according to
some research.
"There's been a substantial increase for girls during the 1990s, and
it's at an all-time high right now," said Charles Yesalis, a professor
of health and human development at Pennsylvania State University.
Lloyd Johnston, a University of Michigan professor who heads an annual
government-sponsored sur- vey on risky behavior by young people, said:
"Other than pedophilia, this is the most secret behavior I've ever
encountered."
Overall, up to about 5 percent of high-school girls and 7 percent of
middle-school girls admit trying anabolic steroids at least once, with
use rising steadily since 1991, various government and university
studies have shown.
Researchers say that most girls are using steroids to get bigger and
stronger on the playing field, and they attribute some of the increase
in steroid use to girls' rising participation in sports. But plenty of
other girls are using steroids to give themselves a slightly muscular
look, they say.
"With young women, you see them using it more as a weight control and
body fat reduction" method, said Jeff Hoerger, who runs the staff
counseling program at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
In the past couple of years, he has helped two young women using
steroids =97 one an 11th-grader with "an average figure" whose swimmer
friend suggested steroids would help with weight loss. "She was just
looking for quick results," Hoerger said.
Body image drives use
Springfield athletic trainer Jim Raynor, at St. John's HealthTracks
Sports Training Center, said he and his colleagues see steroid use
sporadically, and only among college-age women in the Springfield area.
Nonhospital-affiliated programs may see a higher steroid use among women
members, he said.
"To me, it goes back to the body-image thing," Raynor said.
"Unfortunately, they're held up to a standard, and what that standard
might be, certain individuals seem to move it to an extreme. That's not
to take away from the individuals who do work hard and who do everything
healthy and watch what they eat. We're talking about the population that
takes it to an extreme and cuts corners."
Ironically, Raynor said steroids can, but don't always, cause
unattractive side effects: male-pattern baldness, predominant male
facial features such as chiseled cheek or chin bones, abnormal body
hair, deeper voice, acne on the upper back and shoulders, and an
increase in injury rates. Often, women will take more drugs to
counteract those side-effects, he said.
He and colleagues have seen women as recently as this past spring break,
when many young women travel outside the country to easily obtain
bodybuilding steroids. Others research it on the Internet and get it
easily online, he said. "If you want it, you can find it," Raynor added.
"Very few get information from reliable resources. That's the danger."
What can turn women around? "The pessimistic side of me says those
individuals who go down that road are going down a dark alley, and it's
difficult to come back until somebody gets sick or runs into problems,"
Raynor said. "That's why prevention is so important," such as teaching
children about the hazards of steroid use.
Side effects, prevention
The sports medicine division at the Oregon Health and Science University
found that two-thirds of Oregon high-school girls who admitted using
steroids were not athletes and that girls who were considering taking
steroids had tried other, risky ways to get thin.
"They were more likely to have eating disorders and to abuse diuretics,
amphetamines and laxatives," said Dr. Linn Goldberg, head of the
division.
In teenage girls, the side effects from taking male sex hormones can
include severe acne, smaller breasts, deeper voice, irregular periods,
excess facial and body hair, depression, paranoia and the fits of anger
dubbed "roid rage." Steroids also carry higher risks of heart attack,
stroke and some forms of cancer.
How to spot girls' steroid abuse
Experts and medical groups say numerous physical and psychological
changes can be a tip-off that adolescent girls are abusing anabolic
steroids:
=95 Sudden weight gain of 20 or 30 pounds of muscle, rather than fat,
and greater muscle strength.
=95 Increase in facial and body hair, and loss of hair on the head.
=95 Deepening of the voice, a decrease in menstrual cycles and stunted
growth, including smaller breasts.
=95 Sudden development of severe acne on the face and back.
=95 Increased appetite.
=95 Blood clots.
=95 Aggressive behavior or angry outbursts, known as "roid rage."
=95 Paranoia, hallucinations and psychotic behavior.
=95 Development of liver abnormalities and tumors.
=95 Elevated blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, indicating
premature onset of hardening of the arteries.
Researchers say youngsters generally get illegal anabolic steroids on
the black market from relatives or friends, from the local gym and over
the Internet. At least one study indicates some parents and coaches
supply steroids to teen athletes.
Dr. Eric Small, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics'
committee on sports medicine, said adults should gently ask youngsters
about possible steroid use.
"Talking about supplements and steroids needs to start in the third
grade," Small said. "If you wait till ninth grade, it's too late."
http://www.news-leader.com/today/20050426-Girlsusingstero.html
Drugs are bad......mmm'kay?
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