By: J.Marie Brown
I was browsing on the net the other day when I came across a series of images that caught my eye. Yea it's nothing unusual.... I know.
These were pretty disgusting images of a young male body-builder with acne. So what? Well the images didn't show the guys face, where you expect to see acne, but the focus was on the upper chest and back. They were before and after shots, taken over the course of about 2 months.
He had turned up to a clinic in Germany with this very nasty condition and was put on a course of antibiotics. He had been a regular user of anabolic-androgenic steroids.
The first picture showed a typical “body-builder” physique and looked pretty good (if you like that sort of thing).
Next came the horrific raw and oozing acne image!Apparently in addition to prescribing antibiotics, the doctor also advised stopping the intake of steroids.
The last of the three images was one of extensive scarring and drastic loss of muscle tone. These were not the only problems that he had though. As well as the obvious skin thing, there was also shriveled testicles and damaged sperm. That's not all! After everything he had gone through, he had also lost all that muscle condition. Not a great start for a 21 year old.
Why would you take steroids? According to a study which appeared in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition near the end of 2007, some of the primary reasons are - the desire for more muscle mass, strength and to be more physically attractive.
Some of the other significant factors were - decreased fat, increased confidence, attraction of sexual partners and improved mood.
One of the surprising things that came out of the study was that it isn't just young men who are taking anabolic steroids but in fact it is mostly white men of 30 years of age in well paid white collar jobs, who, incidentally, are not athletes.
Well that blew away my stereotype view of a steroid user.Could it possibly have something to do with the expectations we have of ourselves being influenced by the media?
Consider for a moment how marketing has changed the way we view what is sexy or cool.The “Barbie” image has changed over the years so that now she has bigger breasts and a tinier waist.It's not only Barbie though. In 1973 G I Joe had biceps that were only half the size they are now.
We are bombarded with images of beautiful people that subtly affect the way we think of ourselves. It contributes to the body type that we consciously or subconsciously try to attain.
The use or abuse of steroids doesn't only affect the male population.From a study that was carried out at Oregon Health & Science University, we find that there are also teenage girls who are taking these drugs.
This study concluded that the use of steroids among teenage girls was linked to these girls being involved in other forms of behavior that is harmful to health such as substance use, including cigarettes, cocaine, marijuana and alcohol. These steroid users are, in general, troubled teens that are not receiving as much attention as young men - probably because they are not seen as being as socially destructive.
Social behavior is of great concern as far as the use of anabolic steroids goes but there is also the physical impact to consider.The younger a person is when they begin taking these drugs, the earlier the problems will occur.
Probably one of the most significant health issue that can occur is the inhibiting of the growth plates. Particularly in the case of teenage boys, the growth plates are not set. If steroids are used during this period of growth, it can interfere with the body's natural pattern and actually halt the process.
While other factors such as shrunken testicles and reduced sperm count can often be reversed by ceasing to use steroids, the effects of interference with growth plates cannot be reversed. So if you were only 5' 4'' when you started taking steroids, then chances are that is the tallest you will ever be.
The conclusion seems to be that steroid abuse is not just confined to the athletes in society. Far from it. It is now being recognized as another social issue that is making inroads across a wide section of western culture which needs to be addressed.
Author:
J.Marie Brown writes health care related articles. You can visit her website here: Home Health Care
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