MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
I saw this last night on CNN and it made me have many questions. Some parents are injecting their kids with HGH because they are "too short" (almost exclusively boys apparently) and they are concerned with the consequences for them later on-in the business world and in relationships.
Sure seems like a slippery slope to me-and what about emphasizing other qualities? Is shortness really that much of a "handicap" for men, or is this all just reinforcing stereotypes? What about the possible long term effects of HGH, all of which might not even be known? What are parents going to do about their kids' other "shortcomings"?
Here's the transcript
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is Dustin Hoffman sick? Does Martin Scorsese have an illness? And is something ailing Robert Reich, President Clinton's secretary of labor?
COHEN: Well, shortness is now being treated as a disease -- tens of thousands of parents injecting their children every day, in the hope that they can make their kids taller. It often costs hundreds of thousands of dollars for one child.
(on camera): How old is Michael here?
JENNIFER REDA, SON TOOK GROWTH HORMONE: I think he was 3 there.
COHEN: And the little boy next to him?
J. REDA: Same exact age.
COHEN: What did kids say to you?
MICHAEL REDA, TOOK GROWTH HORMONE: They -- they told -- they called me small fry, shrimp, anything they could think of. And I -- I just hated that.
COHEN (voice-over): Michael's preschool teacher called him petite.
J. REDA: I was a little insulted. You know, it's a word you just don't want associated with your son.
COHEN (on camera): Why did you want to take something that would help?
M. REDA: Just to get taller, and, so, everyone would be nice to me, and all the bad stuff would go away.
COHEN (voice-over): When Michael Reda was 7, his parents started him on human growth hormone.
(on camera): So, you got a shot with that needle?
M. REDA: One once a day, yes.
COHEN: Once a day. Wow. Did it hurt?
M. REDA: I got used to it.
J. REDA: I thought he would be more challenged in the business world and even maybe in searching for a spouse.
COHEN: You think short men have a harder time?
J. REDA: I do. I just think we want to think of men as being a little bit larger and capable.
COHEN: So, when Michael first came to see you, he wasn't even on the chart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is right.
COHEN (voice-over): Dr. Fawad Ziay (ph) predicted Michael would grow up to be around 5'5''. After taking growth hormone for two-and- a-half years, Michael grew an extra three inches. Now, instead of being 5'5'' when he grows up, he will be around 5'8''.
(on camera): Did you grow as much as you hoped?
M. REDA: I grew -- I grew more than I hoped.
COHEN (voice-over): But bioethicists like Lori Andrews worry, is it right to use a drug to make your children look a certain way?
LORI ANDREWS, BIOETHICIST: This is part of a slippery slope of parents trying to design their children. And we're starting to see it even as very early stages.
COHEN: After all, Michael wasn't sick. He was just short.
ANDREWS: Nowhere else in medicine do we take healthy children and give them an injection of something that might cause them harm.
COHEN: The vast majority of children do just fine on growth hormone, but some do suffer scoliosis, muscle pains, and headaches.
J. REDA: We entered into it very cautiously. There was a lot of thought process and decision-making prior to giving it to him.
COHEN: Growth hormone isn't cheap. How expensive is it? One inch Of growth costs more than $50,000. Want your child to grow four inches? That will be $200,000, please. And the results are not guaranteed. Insurance paid for Michael's growth hormone. And the Redas couldn't be more pleased with the results.
(on camera): What do you think those three inches have done for him?
J. REDA: I know they have made him a lot happier.
ANDREWS: If the idea is to give your child self-esteem, you should be doing that through parenting, not through drugs.
COHEN (voice-over): That's nonsense, according to Steve Horowitz. At 5'3'', he says he suffers every day because of his height.
STEVE HOROWITZ, FINANCIAL ADVISER: I'm a financial adviser. I see people for a living. People judge you by your -- your height. I would still give anything to put on a couple inches, even at this stage of the game. I would have done anything, and I would still do anything.
COHEN: This drug wasn't around when Steve was a kid, but he did put his son Ira (ph) on it. Ten years of daily injections, and now Ira is 5'9'', and Steve is thrilled his son doesn't have to go through life a very short man.
HOROWITZ: It is an extra hurdle to overcome. And why overcome that hurdle, if you don't have to, if you can have it removed?
COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And one more thing: Worldwide sales of human growth hormone are now close to $2 billion a year. But doctors warn, some human growth hormone is being used for anti-aging treatments, without government approval.
Sure seems like a slippery slope to me-and what about emphasizing other qualities? Is shortness really that much of a "handicap" for men, or is this all just reinforcing stereotypes? What about the possible long term effects of HGH, all of which might not even be known? What are parents going to do about their kids' other "shortcomings"?
Here's the transcript
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is Dustin Hoffman sick? Does Martin Scorsese have an illness? And is something ailing Robert Reich, President Clinton's secretary of labor?
COHEN: Well, shortness is now being treated as a disease -- tens of thousands of parents injecting their children every day, in the hope that they can make their kids taller. It often costs hundreds of thousands of dollars for one child.
(on camera): How old is Michael here?
JENNIFER REDA, SON TOOK GROWTH HORMONE: I think he was 3 there.
COHEN: And the little boy next to him?
J. REDA: Same exact age.
COHEN: What did kids say to you?
MICHAEL REDA, TOOK GROWTH HORMONE: They -- they told -- they called me small fry, shrimp, anything they could think of. And I -- I just hated that.
COHEN (voice-over): Michael's preschool teacher called him petite.
J. REDA: I was a little insulted. You know, it's a word you just don't want associated with your son.
COHEN (on camera): Why did you want to take something that would help?
M. REDA: Just to get taller, and, so, everyone would be nice to me, and all the bad stuff would go away.
COHEN (voice-over): When Michael Reda was 7, his parents started him on human growth hormone.
(on camera): So, you got a shot with that needle?
M. REDA: One once a day, yes.
COHEN: Once a day. Wow. Did it hurt?
M. REDA: I got used to it.
J. REDA: I thought he would be more challenged in the business world and even maybe in searching for a spouse.
COHEN: You think short men have a harder time?
J. REDA: I do. I just think we want to think of men as being a little bit larger and capable.
COHEN: So, when Michael first came to see you, he wasn't even on the chart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is right.
COHEN (voice-over): Dr. Fawad Ziay (ph) predicted Michael would grow up to be around 5'5''. After taking growth hormone for two-and- a-half years, Michael grew an extra three inches. Now, instead of being 5'5'' when he grows up, he will be around 5'8''.
(on camera): Did you grow as much as you hoped?
M. REDA: I grew -- I grew more than I hoped.
COHEN (voice-over): But bioethicists like Lori Andrews worry, is it right to use a drug to make your children look a certain way?
LORI ANDREWS, BIOETHICIST: This is part of a slippery slope of parents trying to design their children. And we're starting to see it even as very early stages.
COHEN: After all, Michael wasn't sick. He was just short.
ANDREWS: Nowhere else in medicine do we take healthy children and give them an injection of something that might cause them harm.
COHEN: The vast majority of children do just fine on growth hormone, but some do suffer scoliosis, muscle pains, and headaches.
J. REDA: We entered into it very cautiously. There was a lot of thought process and decision-making prior to giving it to him.
COHEN: Growth hormone isn't cheap. How expensive is it? One inch Of growth costs more than $50,000. Want your child to grow four inches? That will be $200,000, please. And the results are not guaranteed. Insurance paid for Michael's growth hormone. And the Redas couldn't be more pleased with the results.
(on camera): What do you think those three inches have done for him?
J. REDA: I know they have made him a lot happier.
ANDREWS: If the idea is to give your child self-esteem, you should be doing that through parenting, not through drugs.
COHEN (voice-over): That's nonsense, according to Steve Horowitz. At 5'3'', he says he suffers every day because of his height.
STEVE HOROWITZ, FINANCIAL ADVISER: I'm a financial adviser. I see people for a living. People judge you by your -- your height. I would still give anything to put on a couple inches, even at this stage of the game. I would have done anything, and I would still do anything.
COHEN: This drug wasn't around when Steve was a kid, but he did put his son Ira (ph) on it. Ten years of daily injections, and now Ira is 5'9'', and Steve is thrilled his son doesn't have to go through life a very short man.
HOROWITZ: It is an extra hurdle to overcome. And why overcome that hurdle, if you don't have to, if you can have it removed?
COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And one more thing: Worldwide sales of human growth hormone are now close to $2 billion a year. But doctors warn, some human growth hormone is being used for anti-aging treatments, without government approval.