Dude looks like a lady.
Posted on 04/26/2005 6:24:05 AM PDT by ShadowDancer
Research: Girls Use Steroids To Get 'Toned' Look
Expert Says Girls' Use Of Steroids At All-Time High
POSTED: 8:40 am EDT April 26, 2005
TRENTON, N.J. -- An alarming number of American girls, some as young as 9, are using bodybuilding steroids -- 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 survey 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 of 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 -- 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.
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.
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."
How much will you bet me that the definition of steroids in this article includes andro, which until a couple of months ago was completely legal and available for purchase at Wal Mart, Walgreens and GNC.
I want a piece of that action!
Dude looks like a lady.
Oh, baby!
Is that Pauly Shore?
Let's see...thin with a flat chest, cystsic acne and a beard...or a few pounds overweight. Tough decision, isn't it?
I could have gone all day without seeing that...
When I worked out and competed (for a short time), the other girls (petite ones) on my team were on Andro.
I have a bit larger body frame and bulked up pretty easily. I never needed Andro.
My ex-wife was prescribed a steroid based inhaler when we got stationed at Ft. Benning.
She is a lifelong athlete and this stuff basically evaporated what little fat she had left. She had a great set of abs and looked great.
"I could have gone all day without seeing that..."
to be honest i could have done without that image for my entire existence but now i have mental scars!
I guess these girls aren't old enough to remember the East German women's swim team from the 70's and 80's. It was hard to tell they were women!
My computer screen just turned a sickly green.
LOL!!!! :-)
Everytime I think of girls on steroids, I think of that character, Vera the bodybuilder, that Jim Carrey used to do on Living Color.
Brian the Dog: What's the matter, Peter?
Peter Griffin: (SOB) Last night, Lois was the MAN! (SOB)
She is a lifelong athlete and this stuff basically evaporated what little fat she had left. She had a great set of abs and looked great.
Couldn't be the inhaler that did it. Inhaled corticosteroids are nothing like anabolic steroids. They are related to cortisone, which you've probably seen as an anti-inflammatory ointment. Corticosteroids are more likely to cause weight gain than weight loss and do nothing for muscle mass. They can also cause bone density depletion and immune suppression, but fortunately the doses in inhalers are low and are delivered locally rather than systemically, so the risks are much lower than with oral corticosteroids such as prednisone.
"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."
Hell yeah, I want me a girl from DU!
I could've gone my whole life not seeing that and been perfectly happy.
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