Parents Give Kids HGH to Improve Athletic Performance

Health professionals are setting off alarm bells about HGH use in children to improve sports performance and increase the likelihood of becoming professional athletes. The use of HGH by athletes is nothing new. Professional athletes have been using HGH injections for decades and it is only recently that an accurate way of testing has come about. The use of HGH injections in children for non-medical reasons leaves many wondering how this could be happening.

Recently the news has been covering a lot on HGH use by professional, amateur, and student athletes. There have been disqualifications and criminal charges against those suspected of using HGH. No longer are we reading just about the athletes who are taking steroids, now we are hearing about athletes using HGH injections as a way to gain a competitive edge. Yet, there is little said about the alarming practice of children being given HGH, which should be alarming to everyone.

Laws and Rules Governing HGH

Child Height HGH Depending where you live the laws can look different from another state. There are federal laws regulating the manufacturing, distributing, and selling of HGH. There are also federal regulations pertaining to the use of HGH. Additional laws are implemented by the individual state. Schools, athletic organizations, amateur leagues and professional leagues establish rules on drug use, eligibility, disqualification, and disciplinary action.

The FDA approves HGH for eleven different conditions and none of them are related to sports and improved performance. Growth Hormone Deficiency/Insufficiency is the most common condition HGH is prescribed for along with short stature from Prader-Willi syndrome. Parents are getting creative and attempting to get doctors to prescribe HGH as if they were treating short stature.

HGH – Kids – Sports Performance – What’s it All About?

There is no question we live in a very competitive world and that certainly applies to sports. However, when parents start to go to extremes so that their kids can perform better in sports we need to ask whether this is a wise choice, especially since HGH injections do have a number of serious side effects that can occur. For more information on the risks and possible side effects of human growth hormone visit here.

This problem with the use of HGH injections affects the wealthy parents because it costs tens of thousands of dollars a year to purchase HGH injections. However, make no mistake; tons of other parents would be doing exactly the same thing if their budget could sustain it. The age at which parents are stooping to these tactics continues to decrease. Less than a decade ago, it was mostly college kids and some high school kids. Today there are just as many high school kids as college kids using HGH injections and far too many kids in elementary school.

You might be surprised to learn that some wealthy parents are spending upwards of $50,000 a year to provide their child with HGH injections, hoping that they will outperform their peers in amateur sports and have a chance to move into the professional leagues.

Why Parents Choose HGH for Their Kids

We have recognized that parents are giving their kids HGH to improve their sports performance, but if you don’t understand why parents would do this, you aren’t alone!

HGH became readily available back in the 1990s and since that time it has been forbidden in sports. While not yet scientifically proven, it is thought that HGH increases muscle growth and physical performance. With kids, it’s been proven that human growth hormone will help them to grow taller. Even just a couple of inches, can be helpful in sports. HGH has been proven to not only reduce the likelihood of injuries but speed up the healing when injuries do occur.

HGH injections are not legal for use other than in the eleven defined conditions. It is not legal for use in non-medical conditions. But if it was, it would still only be adults that should decide to use human growth hormone. It should never be parents who decide to give their kids HGH injections because they want them to have a competitive edge over other kids. The risks are just too great.

How Human Growth Hormone Works in the Body’s of Children

HGH is made up of two cycles. The direct cycle occurs when the HGH binds its receptors on target cells. The liver then rapidly changes HGH to IGF-1 or Insulin like Growth Factor Type 1 (Somatomedin). IGF-1 is accountable for the bulk of the valuable effects connected with HGH acting on the target cells. It can be measured in your blood to establish your HGH secretion level.

During the indirect cycle, HGH is released mainly in pulses which takes place during your earliest sleep phase. The indirect effects are arbitrated mostly by IGF-1, which is secreted from the liver as well as other tissue and it is this that is accountable for the HGH.

The positive feedback circuit and negative feedback circuit are at the root of your endocrine system. The positive feedback is seen when the output of a pathway encourages inputs to that pathway. The negative feedback uses the two hypothalamic hormones GHRH and SS, to control HGH secretion.

The Efficiency of Human Growth Hormone in Children

When HGH injections are used to treat short statute, the child receives HGH injections until the desired height is reached. Generally within the first 3 to 4 months after treatment begins there will be some change in growth seen. The HGH treatments are believed to be very effective in the treatment of short statute. Most kids will have a decrease in body fat and an increase in appetite. Of course, the side effects that children can develop apply even when the HGH injections are to treat a medical condition. The endocrinologist will carefully monitor your child.

HGH Research Studies on Children

Maurice Raben, an endocrinologist, injected a dwarf child with HGH. The child began to grow normally and over the next 30 years thousands of children were injected with cadaver derived HGH.
In 1985, a research scientist by the name of Keith Kelley, M.D., established that injections of cells that secrete high amounts of HGH can cause the shriveled thymus glands in old rats to grow until it becomes just as large and healthy as what is found in young rats.
Research (Kastrup, Christiansen, Andersen, Orskov 1983) showed that HGH injections are very effective in deficient growth hormone children. Sixteen growth deficient children were given high HGH injections every day for 2 years. During the first year, growth response increased. Absence of antibodies against HGH and local reactions at the injection site showed the safety of the treatment. The treatment was well accepted by the children.
In 1982, a study began of 31 children with short stature (Albertsson-Wikland 1986). They received subcutaneous injections of HGH. 29 of the 31 children experienced a high growth response.

Side Effects of HGH in Children

Side effects from HGH injections can and do occur. These side effects are more troubling with children, which can range from mild to severe.

Some of the most common side effects that children experience include Abdominal pain and bloating, carpal tunnel syndrome, changes in vision, ear infections, fatigue, headache, itching, joint pain, nausea, muscle pain, vomiting, and swelling of the hands, feet, and lower legs.

When human growth hormone is administered to children that have normal growth patterns, the side effects are usually much more serious because the human growth hormone levels become far too high within the child. These children often develop abnormal bone growth, abnormal organ growth (heart, kidneys, liver), cancer, diabetes, excessive bone growth, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries.

Summary

It seems it may be time for society to become alarmed, as there is no sign that the practice of giving kids HGH injections to improve their performance as athletes is not going away any time so