Human Growth Hormone, aka HGH, is something our bodies produce naturally. It’s a crucial hormone that does what its name suggests, supporting growth. Injecting exogenous HGH in healthy adults improves the body’s capacity to build muscle beyond its natural limit. Hence, HGH has gained prominence in bodybuilding. However, overuse of HGH leads to several side effects, the most visible one being a protruding gut. Many fans believe Joe Rogan is suffering from this side effect.

Multi-millionaire podcaster, UFC commentator, comedian, and martial artist Joe Rogan’s stills from UFC 300 have concerned fans. Many have pointed out that the color commentator has overused HGH to the point that he suffers from a bubble gut. In fact, Rogan attracted similar speculation from the bodybuilding and MMA communities when he took his shirt off on The Joe Rogan Experience a few years ago. Yet, how does one get a bubble gut from HGH overuse?

Does HGH use lead to organomegaly?

Before understanding the bubble gut, we must understand how HGH works and, in high doses, may lead to organomegaly. The body’s HGH production peaks during puberty and starts declining after 30s. However, bodybuilders looking to maximize muscle growth started using supraphysiological doses of HGH in the 90s.

As professional bodybuilders constantly chased muscle mass, after a few years, some began experiencing side effects. HGH overuse may cause carpal tunnel syndrome, increased insulin resistance and/or Type 2 diabetes, swelling of the extremities (edema), joint and muscle pain, enlargement of breast tissue (gynecomastia), and increased risk of certain cancers. However, bodybuilders like Dave Palumbo experienced a distended gut, which made his abs look deformed.

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It severely affected his aesthetic, as Palumbo would look shredded, yet with a massive protruding gut. That’s because exogenous human growth hormone at a high dose doesn’t just help the body put on more muscle but may also make the organs grow in size. It’s not uncommon to find a bodybuilder with an enlarged heart.

Doctors found Andreas Munzer had an enlarged liver and heart when he suddenly died at 31. Munzer became known as the most shredded bodybuilder on earth. Since the liver processes the HGH to produce Insulin-Like Growth Factor – 1 (IGF-1), which promotes hypertrophy, it may push on the other organs, which in turn push on the abdominal wall.

However, some experts argue that organomegaly from HGH may occur if the bodybuilder uses extremely high doses or continues to use high doses for a prolonged period. Joe Rogan meets the later criteria. That’s because Rogan first publicly spoke about using HGH in 2011 during a JRE episode.

Is Joe Rogan taking too much HGH?

“I take human growth hormone and testosterone. I go for hormone replacement therapy,” the UFC commentator has said in the past. However, the 56-year-old didn’t stop using HGH. Although he said he used the prescribed amount of growth hormone, it’s been nearly 15 years since Rogan started using HGH.

Derek from More Plates More Dates analyzed Rogan’s physical change in 2020 when Joe Rogan took off his shirt to show off his gain. However, fans immediately started talking about Rogan’s distended gut. Derek attributed it to his “chronic” HGH use.

While Derek didn’t talk about organomegaly, he said Joe Rogan may suffer from increased insulin resistance. The fitness YouTuber argued that the UFC commentator developed insulin resistance before it became a bubble gut. Nearly five years later, fans believe it’s gotten worse.

In multiple photographs featuring Joe Rogan from UFC 300, fans thought his midsection looked distended. Rogan, on the other hand, has addressed that his HGH dose wouldn’t lead to hyperinsulinemia in the past. But, the fact that he has used HGH for such a prolonged period may have caused it despite the low dosage.

Joe Rogan doesn’t post regular physique updates like bodybuilders. Hence, there’s little visual evidence that his bubble gut has worsened since 2020. Rogan also never clarified how much HGH he uses or if the dose has increased. Hence, it’s difficult to pinpoint if the UFC commentator is overusing HGH.

That being said, the subtle bubble gut that Joe Rogan developed might not be because he took too much. Instead, it may be because he has been using HGH with a combination of testosterone replacement therapy for too long.