True cost of trying to look 'hot'

'In the news in the United States recently, a number of popular Hip-Hop artists were linked to a drug dealer in Florida, who was selling them anabolic steroids...'

If the above statement even remotely interests you, you might respond with something like the following: "What? Why would a Hip-Hop artist need to be bigger, faster, fitter, leaner? Isn't it just elite athletes who take them?"

No. Absolutely not. And this is why ...

In the quest to be bigger and stronger and to fight ageing, men as young as 16, will turn to steroids (street code names include, "being juiced up" or "on the gear"), when the gym and diet just won't give them what they desire. Above all of this, though, is the ongoing quest to just look 'hot'.

Have you noticed how buff and fit some rap artists are? Trust me, that did NOT happen from singing - I bet it didn't even happen from dancing for hours and hours. But, I don't mean to pick on one particular genre.

And even if you are not someone in the public eye, whose appearance might make or break your career, the allure of a syringe full of hormones that deliver a so-called 'hot body' is just too hard to resist for the more egocentric of us. And when I say 'us', I'm talking about men (and rarely, some women) of all ages, cultures, careers and desires.

Steroids fall into two broad categories.

The anabolic steroids are the ones we hear about and are most often used. The term 'anabolic' means 'to induce growth or build'. So it is this steroid that is injected up to three times a day, depending on the drug and the intensity of the effect you want, to make you larger and stronger.

The way it works on a basic level is to synthesise enormous amounts of protein. Your muscles will over-respond to any stimulus by having the fibres grow thicker and stronger in a very short time. The results are very dramatic and affect every muscle in the body.

The androgenic steroids are the ones we hear less about. 'Andro' means 'pertained to the masculine or man' and are injected to induce more manly features, such as a more chiselled appearance, broad shoulders, body hair, larger muscles and overall strength.

Both types are testosterone derivatives and have been around for about 80 years, originally developed for therapeutic purposes. In the 1970s, all steroids were banned from the Olympic Games and in the recent Beijing Olympic Games, over 60 types of anabolic steroids were listed as banned substances.

When a man supplements himself with steroids, his innate ability to produce testosterone diminishes. The reason for this is very complex at a cellular level but simple to understand in theory - when his body detects high testosterone levels in his blood, the hormone factory, located in his testicals, slow its output or even can shut down to protect itself. The side effects of this include shrinking testes - some as small as peanuts, according to a doctor in the US.

With any drug, there is no free ride.

Other side effects include thickening skin and permanent flushing due to very high blood pressure, baldness, acne, breast growth, enlarged heart muscle, kidney disease, liver disease, excessive and deformed bone growth (think big knuckles and huge jawlines - eewwww!) and general stress on joints and spine.

Some men in conjunction with their steroid consumption, take Human Growth Hormone, as a short cut on the journey to enormous mass. The long-term effects of the combination are not clear as the studies have not been thorough - after all, it is unethical to experiment on one's health and life to that degree. Users who stop injecting often have most of the physical side effects reversed, but the internal organs remain damaged. A lot of steroid abusers go on to have liver and kidney transplants.

And, if you think all that is bad, consider the mental side effects of steroid abuse. The most famous one being the 'roid rage' that some bodybuilders who indulge in the juice feel due to hormone overload.

This will lead to anti-social behaviour such as violence - both verbal and physical aggression - often triggered by inconsequential things. It can lead to the breakdown of work and home relationships, too.

Pair this with the severe insomnia that steroids cause and you have one giant, unhappy and deranged man!

Steroids, however, are not illegal to manufacture or use, per se. If you can convince a doctor that you need them, then you're set.

Doctors have been prescribing them for decades for a short list of medical problems to both men and women.

The benefits of steroids included tissue repair and growth, as well as extremely efficient fat-burning, by stimulating the endocrine system. Finding a doctor to do this is the tricky part. Indeed, steroids are even allowed in some sports and coaches will encourage their athletes to take them.

Professional bodybuilding and professional wrestling are the most obvious ones. Less obvious are sports that require enormous bursts of power, strength or speed, and where drug-testing is not an issue, like amateur track and field or boxing.

What is illegal, though, is the means of supply. If you are purchasing them on the black market, then you cannot be assured that you won't get a long free holiday at your local prison. And, how can you be assured of the quality?

If you are still interested in being big and strong, try the old-fashioned methods first where the biggest price you may have to pay is a sprained ankle or muscle soreness!

The next step is to get more information on steroids, and then talk to a caring doctor about your desires and options.

One out of every 10 people with a body image problem, which constitutes a mental illness, is a male, and this is what causes many men to seek steroids in the first place.

So...if you are still keen to inject, perhaps seek counselling too.

Look after yourselves. Sometimes it's just NOT 'cool' to be so 'hot'.