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Speaker 1: And young men are turning to performance enhancing drugs like

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Speaker 1: bodybuilding steroids in order to change their appearance. Has been

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Speaker 1: fueled by fitness and gym content online, and conversations about

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Speaker 1: using the band substances are becoming more popular in gyms

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Speaker 1: around the country. David Gerrard is an emeritus professor in

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Speaker 1: sports medicine at Otago University. Good Evening, Good Evening, Jack,

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Speaker 1: So what kind of drugs are young men in particular.

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Speaker 2: Using, well, Jack, The first thing is, we have to

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Speaker 2: be very cautious about the use of the term steroids,

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Speaker 2: because I think what we're referring to here, of course

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Speaker 2: anabolic androgenic or masculinizing body building hormones, not the sort

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Speaker 2: of steroids that you and I would use to control

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Speaker 2: asthma or have an allergic condition. So I think we

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Speaker 2: clarify that one to begin with. We're talking here about

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Speaker 2: the illegal importation often and certainly the misuse of drugs

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Speaker 2: that were the preserve of medical science and clinicians who

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Speaker 2: have to deal with people who need testosterone replacement. It's

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Speaker 2: certainly not drugs to enhance the body image of young males.

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Speaker 1: And what do you put it down to? These guys

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Speaker 1: who just want to look good on Instagram.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I guess I guess we know a lot, Jackle.

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Speaker 2: We've read a lot, and appropriately so, about young females

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Speaker 2: whose body image is affected by eating disorders and wanting

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Speaker 2: to conform to the so called body image that's imposed

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Speaker 2: by the influences. And by that, I guess we mean

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Speaker 2: the culture of magazines and movie and TV. Same for

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Speaker 2: the males. You know, the body shape that's perceived, perceived

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Speaker 2: as being ideal for a you know, a red blooded male.

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Speaker 2: I guess this is where it is. It's a culture

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Speaker 2: that's unfortunately crept in and it does seem to have

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Speaker 2: its genesis in and around certain gymnasia and the ambience

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Speaker 2: that that creates.

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Speaker 1: So aside from being illegal, what is the problem with

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Speaker 1: young men using these drugs?

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Speaker 2: Well, the problem is Jack, that these were drugs, as

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Speaker 2: I said, that really are for treating patients who require them,

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Speaker 2: who need a male hormone replacement. And if a set

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Speaker 2: healthy young male uses these drugs, well, for sure they

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Speaker 2: will work in the sense that they will enhance muscle bulk,

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Speaker 2: but they carry with them some very sinister side effects,

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Speaker 2: including the young male's impotence, the diminished activity of one's

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Speaker 2: test is because you're receiving exogenous supplies of testosterone, so

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Speaker 2: therefore your own body doesn't need to produce it. You've

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Speaker 2: got a whole raft of diseases associated with the cardiovascular system,

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Speaker 2: increased risk of heart attacks because of the profile of

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Speaker 2: cholesterol and triglycerides and lippards, mood changes. Guys who are

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Speaker 2: using these drugs in an uncontrolled way can show uncharacteristic aggression,

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Speaker 2: and there's a whole array of mood changes that are

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Speaker 2: seen and people. Then there's the risk of certain forms

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Speaker 2: of cancer associated with long term, prolonged use of anabolic steel,

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Speaker 2: which so there's a whole raft of reasons why young

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Speaker 2: men should not be dabbling in this in an uncontrolled way.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, hey, thanks for your time, Dave. We appreciate it.

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Speaker 1: There was David Gerard, who is an emeritus professor in

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Speaker 1: sports Medicine at Otago Universities. For more from Heather Duplessy

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Speaker 1: Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. They'd be from

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Speaker 1: four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.