Researcher warns of teens using anabolic steroids

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- America's romance with muscle-popping celebrities could be leading teen-agers of both sexes into potentially dangerous liaisons with anabolic steroids, a prominent researcher warned on Tuesday.

Charles Yesalis, a Pennsylvania State University health policy professor, reported evidence that U.S. youths are coming under social pressure to conform to a "muscular body image" projected by Hollywood stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wesley Snipes and Linda Hamilton.

"Hollywood stars are openly taking Human Growth Hormone injections to combat aging," said Yesalis, editor of the latest edition of the book, "Anabolic Steroids in Sports and Exercise" (Human Kinetics).

He said popular images spawned by the rise of women's sports and heavyweight wrestling also pose problems for youths who might feel compelled to achieve a muscular build or low body fat by using steroids as a short-cut.

And children are entering competitive sports at younger ages, he added, with the offspring of many working parents participating in two or three sports.

"The use of anabolic steroids has cascaded down from the Olympic, professional and college levels to high schools and junior high schools and now middle schools," Yesalis said. "The pressure to win at all costs continues to weigh heavily."

Yesalis pointed to a national annual study suggesting that steroid use hit an all-time among high school seniors in the 1990s, with over 500,000 students having "cycled" -- sports parlance for a six to 12-week episode of steroid use -- at least once. Studies contained in the recently published book, which contains the views and research on anabolic steroids from 15 scientists, also suggested that steroid use is occurring among children as young as 10.

Long-term anabolic steroid use has been linked to heart and liver diseases. Girls especially risk long-term side-effects, including male hair growth or baldness.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Pennsylvania State University
Growth Hormone Replacement in Adults
Minnesota Department of Health - Human Growth Hormone

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