The body beautiful is becoming increasingly more desirable and important. We are saturated with images of hollywood stars and models with perfect bodies. This would be irrelavent if it were not for the natural human desire to better ourselves. However the effect of this continual bombardment can lead to certain members of the population taking drastic measures to live up to the standards that are imposed upon them.
Now this figure may or may not be shocking. What is more worrying is the increased use of steroids by people - and this problem is definitely not isolated to the male population. Here is a story of steroid abuse, courtesy of mh-18:
"By the time Tom made it to the hospital, his body had swollen like a steamed sausage.When an ER doctor touched the high-school senior's face, his fingertips sank in, creating dents that lasted for seconds.
Tests showed that the 17-year-old's kidneys were near failure. If his parents hadn't brought him in when they did, he almost certainly would have lost both kidneys and suffered permanent liver damage -- if he survived at all.
What caused this massive internal meltdown?
It was a witch's brew of medicines and other concoctions Tom had been abusing formonths to beef up his muscles. Here's what the lab found in his blood:
Anabolic Steroids -- manmade versions of the male hormone testosterone, which helps grow muscle, bones, and skin. Tom bought the illegal drugs at his local gym. Diuretics -- drugs that eliminate body fluid (they make you pee a lot); muscles look more "cut" when you have less water in your body. Caffeine, decongestants, and aspirin -- a "fat-burning stack" of pills that marketers claim burns calories; they are available at your average health-food store. Insulin -- a diabetes drug that some bodybuilders use as a "growth-stimulating supplement."
This may be an extreme case but is by no means isolated. Despite the threat of criminal conviction and lasting health problems, steroid use continues to climb because of the incredible, quick muscle it delivers. "There are at least half a million American kids from seventh to 12th grade who have used anabolic steroids," says Charles Yesalis, MD, a Penn State University steroid researcher. "Some studies have found that even fifth- and sixth-graders are using them." And even more teens have tried so-called over-the-counter steroids -- legal sports supplements like androstenedione, or "andro" for short.
This site will investigate a number of anabolic steroids. These are steroids based upon the male sex hormones (androgens). The proper term for these compounds is "anabolic-androgenic" steroids. They promote the growth of skeletal muscle (anabolic effects) and the development of male sexual characteristics (androgenic effects), and also have some other effects.