Our Statement: Growth hormones and treatments should only be used when prescribed by a doctor and or when medically necessary. This meaning that all other uses of hormone treatments should be made illegal because of the risks that can be associated with hormone imbalance.
An in depth definition of growth hormone can be found here: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=16691 “*The average American adult male is 5 feet 9 1/2 inches tall and the average woman is 5 feet 4 inches tall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Although most people fall around these heights, many seek alternative ways of increasing stature. Within the past 50 years the use of growth hormones has become a prevalent issue in our society. The reasons for this use can range from the want of physical changes to ones body such as muscle building or height changing, and for other chemical imbalance improvements.
The issue we picked has a pretty clear and simple reasoning. Things that aren’t naturally produced in a human body shouldn’t be artificially put there. The risks and dangers that accompany the use and treatments of growth hormones outweigh the benefits of the desired outcome. Many people who seek the use of these hormones are looking for a cosmetic change to their body rather than a concern for bettering their health. Without a medical need for these hormone treatments it is impossible to know exactly how an individuals body will react with unneeded tampering, like with any other cosmetic decision or drug use.
Another reason that strengthens our argument is the issue of cost and value. As the statistic clearly shows above, the price tag is large one for those who seek it as a ‘cosmetic decision’ instead of a medical need. Most insurance companies do not cover procedures defined such as this and it is therefore a large out of pocket expense for such uncertain results and possible negative effects.
*These treatments come at a cost -- some estimate $35,000 an inch -- and when used in higher doses can shorten life-span by predisposing children to diabetes, scoliosis and cancer, according to some studies.
Even when in need, hormone treatments come with risks and dangers that are still completely unknown to the doctors who prescribe them. This alone should raise caution especially for those who seek it without need. *From 1963 to 1985, about 27,000 children worldwide were injected with human growth hormone (hGH) obtained from the pituitary glands of cadavers. Some contracted the deadly Creutzfeldt-Jakob or Mad Cow disease. In all, 26 out of 7,000 Americans -- and many more in Europe -- died, according to statistics from The National Institutes of Health.
A few of the major documented concerns associated with hormone treatments are as follows: pituitary tumors which cause headaches, vision impairment, and the deficiency of other pituitary hormones, prolonged thickness of bones in the jaw, fingers and tows, which results in heaviness and increased size. An increased risk of diabetes has also been noted likewise cancer of many varieties has been ‘unofficially linked’ to GH treatments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hormone).
So with that being said, these risks are just a few concerns to be aware of and although there are a few cases of success without complications, the overwhelming numbers of those who did not have the same success rate trumps those few individuals that did.
*Most research shows that while it's tough being short in grade school, the outcomes of shorter children are no different than their taller peers in adulthood.
*-http://abcnews.go.com/Health/growth-hormones-healthy-kids-increase/story?
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3UpDOpUHrQ (Does this look like a good use of GH?)
*http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/02/13/35208.aspx (Additional health risks) id=8571628&page=2#.T0rev2DOQyA
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