HHS HealthBeat (August 15, 2007)

Girls on ‘roids

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Using illegal steroids and exercising is supposed to make a guy bulk up more. But a study finds girls use them, too, and not alwaysfor athletics.

Diane Elliot of Oregon Health and Science University examined national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her study in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

``There are 17 million U.S. high school students, and that means that more than 100,000 young women have – or are – using anabolic steroids.’’ (8 seconds)

She suspects many girls use steroids to lose fat.

Elliot says girl steroid-users are more likely to make other unhealthy choices, like using other drugs. She also points out that steroids are male hormones, so they’ll make girls more male-appearing, including deepening their voices.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss

Last revised: August, 15 2007