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Hidden Dangers of Sports

HIDDEN DANGERS OF SPORTS
Sports are a great way for your kids to exercise and keep healthy, but taken to the extreme; the idea of winning at any cost can actually cost your child his or her life!  Would you know if your daughter was so obsessed with exercise that she's actually destroying her bones, instead of making them stronger?  Could you tell if your son has secretly used steroids?  Today, participation in sports can actually lead to serious and hidden dangers that parents need to watch for.  In girls, excessive athletic exercise and dieting can set them up for eating disorders and irreparable damage to their bones.  In boys, the drive to be strong leads many young men to steroid addiction, with disastrous side effects ranging from personality disorders to liver and kidney failure. Join host Dr. Winnie King, three of the country's leading sports medicine experts - meet the young men and women who learned these lessons the hard way and meet a mother and father whose son lost his life for his sport. 


Guests:

Allison Speck:  woman who was obsessed with excercise and suffered from eating disorders and now deals with very frail bones

Nate McCarthy: former wrestler who gained and dropped weight quickly to make the appropriate weight classes.

Former Steroid User: Young man (identiy protected) who used steriods and suffers from the lasting affects

Lisa Callahan, MD: Women's Sports Medicine Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York; Assistant Professor, Cornell Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York; Contributing Editor to Self Magazine; Author of  
The Fitness Factor

Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, FACSM: Sports Nutrition Consultant for the New York Giants football team and School of American Ballet in New York; Nutritionist, Women's Sports Medicine Center at Hospital for Special Surgery, New York;
Fellow with American College of Sports Medicine

Mininder Kocher, MD, MPH: Sports Medicine Physician and Orthopedic Surgeon, Children's Hospital Boston; Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School; Author/Editor of more than 70 articles, studies, etc; Editor of medical text book, The Pediatric Knee

Warning Signs (for girls):

  • Not menstruating
  • Disordered eating
  • Excessive exercise
  • Fractures

Girls most at risk:

Personality:  Perfectionist, low self esteem, wants to please people

Activities:  Sports where performance is perceived to improve with lower weight (such as cross country running, skating, gymnastics, etc.)

Warning Signs of steroid use (for boys):

  • Bad temper (more than normal)
  • Poor sleep patterns
  • Cosntantly fidgety, can't settle down
  • Significant muslce growth in short time frame

 

Resources:

Female Athlete Triad:
www.WomenSportsMedicine.org
212-606-1345

For Steriod Information:
www.health.org
800-662-HELP