Do Steroids Really Cause Weight (Fat) Gain?
I met our firm's secretary's 9 y.o. boy the other day for the first time .. I was stunned to see how heavy he was, so much so that he kinda waddled around (our secretary is tall and slender, btw). Moreover, it seemed like he was constantly eating snacks (or looking around trying to find something to eat in the office) .. 
The following day when I was alone with the secretary we were talking about her kids, and I mentioned how her son really seemed to have a weight problem / eating disorder .. She admitted he did, but blamed his condition and voracious appetite supposedly on medications he had been taking for asthma the last few years, primarily steroids ..
I had heard this same story many times before -- that medical steroids cause fat and fluid gain .. I'm sure veryone remembers how heavy and bloated Jerry Lewis was a couple of Telethons or so ago .. He blamed his weight gain on steroids that he was on at the time for a medical condition of some kind ..
For our medicos in the know (Foobster?), is that true about steroids, and, if so, why do they have that effect on the human body?
It seems like when those bodybuilder types take steroids, it causes them, coversely, to lose fat and fluid and bulk up with muscle instead .. 
The following day when I was alone with the secretary we were talking about her kids, and I mentioned how her son really seemed to have a weight problem / eating disorder .. She admitted he did, but blamed his condition and voracious appetite supposedly on medications he had been taking for asthma the last few years, primarily steroids ..
I had heard this same story many times before -- that medical steroids cause fat and fluid gain .. I'm sure veryone remembers how heavy and bloated Jerry Lewis was a couple of Telethons or so ago .. He blamed his weight gain on steroids that he was on at the time for a medical condition of some kind ..
For our medicos in the know (Foobster?), is that true about steroids, and, if so, why do they have that effect on the human body?
It seems like when those bodybuilder types take steroids, it causes them, coversely, to lose fat and fluid and bulk up with muscle instead .. Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
The term "steroid" is a generic term, and describes a wide variety of biologically active substances which act in the body as hormones. They all have a characteristic 4 ring ("steroid") structure, but different kinds of steroids have different biological actions. Here are just a few of the many different kinds of steroids:
androgens (male sex hormones and anabolic steroids)
estrogens (female sex hormones)
progestins (female sex hormones)
corticosteroids (cortisol, prednisone, etc.)
of which there are two types:
glucocorticosteroids (anti-inflammatory, affect glucose and adipose tissue metabolism)
mineralocorticosteroids (affect sodium and water conservation, potassium excretion)
some corticosteroids, like cortisol, have both gluco- and mineralo- corticoid activity
vitamin D and its analogs
yes, vitamin D is a steroid, and is formed when UV ray**** cholesterol
Jerry Lewis was heavy and bloated due to the corticosteroids he was taking.
/Steve
androgens (male sex hormones and anabolic steroids)
estrogens (female sex hormones)
progestins (female sex hormones)
corticosteroids (cortisol, prednisone, etc.)
of which there are two types:
glucocorticosteroids (anti-inflammatory, affect glucose and adipose tissue metabolism)
mineralocorticosteroids (affect sodium and water conservation, potassium excretion)
some corticosteroids, like cortisol, have both gluco- and mineralo- corticoid activity
vitamin D and its analogs
yes, vitamin D is a steroid, and is formed when UV ray**** cholesterol
Jerry Lewis was heavy and bloated due to the corticosteroids he was taking.
/Steve
Thanks Foo .. 
You bring up another question I have had .. That product that was so popular some time back: "Cortislim". (and not a cheap one, either!)
The product claims that high stress levels cause the release of Cortisol into the blood (I wondered if that stuff even really existed, apparently it does) and that Cortisol causes the body to store fat onto the abdomen. The Cortislim product apparently somehow interferes with this process or otherwise causes the body to burn off the bellyfat, or so they claim.
Does that sound physiolgically and pharmacologically sound, or is it just yet another "snake oil" diet product?
You bring up another question I have had .. That product that was so popular some time back: "Cortislim". (and not a cheap one, either!)
The product claims that high stress levels cause the release of Cortisol into the blood (I wondered if that stuff even really existed, apparently it does) and that Cortisol causes the body to store fat onto the abdomen. The Cortislim product apparently somehow interferes with this process or otherwise causes the body to burn off the bellyfat, or so they claim.
Does that sound physiolgically and pharmacologically sound, or is it just yet another "snake oil" diet product?
Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
Calm down, Cookieman . . (have a cookie) ..
We are like family at our firm .. There are only 3 of us and we are very close and spiritual (I don't know how they do it in the big NYC, but we're a little different down here in the South).
Btw, our secretary in fact was the first to complain how her kid is eating them out of house and home ... And when it comes to her kiddo looking at the fancy decorative air freshener on my desk (and yes, I keep one there b/c of my DS
) and trying to figure out if the little odor-control beads inside it are edible (e.g. candy), I think for the safety sake of her kid it's time she is made aware that others are concerned as well for his well-being .
We are like family at our firm .. There are only 3 of us and we are very close and spiritual (I don't know how they do it in the big NYC, but we're a little different down here in the South).
Btw, our secretary in fact was the first to complain how her kid is eating them out of house and home ... And when it comes to her kiddo looking at the fancy decorative air freshener on my desk (and yes, I keep one there b/c of my DS
) and trying to figure out if the little odor-control beads inside it are edible (e.g. candy), I think for the safety sake of her kid it's time she is made aware that others are concerned as well for his well-being . Frank talk about the DS / "All I ever wanted to be was thin, like that Rolling Stones dude ... "
HW/461 LW/251 GW/189 CW/274 (yep, a DS semi-failure - it happens :-( )
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