ANABOLIOC STEROIDS: A threat to Mind and Body



Article 1: ANABOLIOC STEROIDS: A Threat to Mind and Body- The Price of Perfection

Shock waves went through the sports world when Canadian track superstar Ben Johnson was denied his gold medal at the 1988 Olympics after tests showed he had taken anabolic steroids. The incident called international attention to the use of anabolic steroids among world-class athletes to gain competitive advantage.

Still, athletes and non-athletes alike persist in taking them. Teenagers are taking anabolic steroids not just to excel in sports but to enhance their self-images by perfecting their physiques. There are even reports of male adults in physically demanding professions like law enforcement using them to appear tougher and more formidable.

As the drug grows in popularity so does awareness of the serious side effects it may cause. One of the most alarming is the threat of AIDS. HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, can be transmitted if shared needles are used to inject the drug.

But potential harm to physical and psychological health is only one aspect of this troubling trend.

A QUESTION OF VALUES

The non-medical use of anabolic steroids raises more ethical and moral issues. Engaging in steroids use is illegal. Users are likely to find themselves acquiring these drugs through illicit and expensive channels. The heavy demand for anabolic steroids has given rise to black market, with sales estimated at as much as $400 million a year. Moreover, supplies, which are often illegally manufactured and do not meet established standards, may be contaminated.

Many argue that athletes who use these drugs are cheating. They gain an unfair advantage over opponents and violate the ban on steroids imposed by most major sports organizations.

ANOTHER ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE?

Can anabolic steroids be added to the list of addictive drugs? Early signs point to addictive patterns among users. At the very least, users demonstrate an unwillingness to give up anabolic steroids even in the face of possibly dire consequences to their health.

STOPPING THE TREND

As the health risks of anabolic steroids become more apparent, efforts to curtail their use through education, legislation, and medical practices are intensifying.



Article 2: ANABOLIOC STEROIDS

Anabolic steroids are synthetic hormones that resemble the male hormone, testosterone. When taken in large doses, anabolic steroids stimulate muscle formation. They increase muscle size and strength by stimulating protein synthesis in muscle cells. High doses may also reduce the inflammation that frequently results from heavy exercise, allowing athletes to work out harder and longer.

When it comes to building muscle, steroids and exercise are an unbeatable combination. Some users claim that steroids even increase aggression, which may be helpful to football players and other competitive athletes.

Despite the benefits of steroids, most physicians view them as a dangerous proposition. For example, steroids can result in psychiatric (mental) and behavioral problems. One set of researchers interviewed 41 athletes who used steroids in doses 10-100 times greater than those used in medical studies. The athletes also reported using as many as five or six steroids simultaneously in cycles lasting 4-12 weeks, a practice known as “stacking.” In this study, researchers found that one-third of the athletes developed severe psychiatric complications.

Athletes in the study reported episodes of severe depression during and after steroid use. Some reported feelings of invincibility. One man, in fact, deliberately drove a car into a tree at 40 mph while a friend videotaped him. Some subjects reported psychotic symptoms in association with steroid use, including auditory hallucinations (hearing voices). Withdrawal from steroids resulted not only in depression, but also in suicidal tendencies.

Other studies have shown that steroids used in excess may damage the heart and kidneys and reduce testicular size in men. In women, steroids deepen the voice and may cause enlargement of the clitoris. Steroids also cause severe acne and liver cancer. Unfortunately, there are no scientific studies on the long-term health effects of steroids.

Despite the fact that anabolic steroids are banned by the National Football League, the International Olympic Committee, and college athletic programs, athletes continue to use them. Most steroids used in the United States are imported illegally from Mexico and Europe. Because of a federal crackdown on the importation of steroids, some experts believe that the inflow may be slowing. Others are not so optimistic, contending that the $100-million-a-year black market will not be easily deterred.

A recent survey of 46 public and private high schools across the United States involving over 3000 teenagers suggest that steroid use is especially prevalent in high school seniors. About one in every fifteen senior boys reported taking anabolic steroids. The study also showed that the use of anabolic steroids begins in junior high school. Two-thirds of the students surveyed said that they had used steroids by age sixteen.

Nearly half the users said they took the drugs to boost athletic performance, and 27% said their primary motive was to improve their appearance. Researchers say that adolescents who use steroids may be putting themselves at risk of stunted growth, infertility, and psychological problems.

Steroid use in the United States illustrates our dependence on quick fixes. It is a tragic result of the almost obsessive focus on performance and achievement that may be endangering the health of our children and our athletes.

Article 3: WHAT EFFECT DO ANABOLIC STEROIDS HAVE IN ADULTS?

In males, excess anabolic steroids are metabolized into female sex hormones. This leads to growth of breasts in men, known medically as “gynecomastia.” While drastic breast growth does not occur in every case of steroid abuse, it is an irreversible side effect.

Testosterone is produced by the testes at the rate of four to ten milligrams per day. When a male takes anabolic steroids, the body detects the excess steroids and signals the testes to stop producing them. When they stop pricing testosterone, they also stop producing live sperm. Long periods of anabolic steroid abuse lead to infertility and reduced testicular size. In adult males, the testes begin to function again within six months after steroids are withdrawn. It is not known whether anabolic steroids have a different effect on testicular function in adolescent males.

Article 4: ARE ATHLETES LOOKING GOOD & DOING BETTER WITH ANABOLIC STEROIDS?

Everyone loves a winner, and top athletes are popular and make lots of money. It is not surprising that some will grasp at anything to increase their performance- including anabolic steroids. These hormones engineered by pharmaceutical companies, were introduced in the 1950’s to treat victims of certain muscle-wasting diseases and anemia and to prevent muscle atrophy in patients immobilized after s surgery. Testosterone, a natural anabolic steroid made by the body, triggers the increase of muscle and bone mass and other physical changes that occur during puberty and convert boys into men. Convinced that huge doses could enhance masculinizing effects in grown men, many athletes were using the steroids by the early 1960s, and the practice is still going strong today. Indeed it is estimated that one out of every ten young men has tried steroids, so use is no longer confined to athletes looking for the edge.

The use of these drugs has been banned by most international competitions, and users (and prescribing physicians or drug dealers) are naturally reluctant to talk about it. Nonetheless, there is little question that many professional bodybuilders and athletes competing in events that require great muscle strength (such as discus throwing and weight lifting) are heavy users. Sports figures such as football players have also admitted to using steroids to help them prepare for games. Advantages of anabolic steroids cited by athletes include increased muscle mass and strength, increased oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood (because of greater red blood cell volume), and an increase in aggressive behavior (the urge to “steamroller the other guy”.

But do the drugs do all that is claimed for them? Research studies have reported increases in isometric strength and body weight in steroid users. Although these are results weight lifters dream about, there is a hot dispute over whether the drugs also enhance the fine muscle coordination and endurances needed by runners and others.

Do the claimed slight advantages conferred by steroid use outweigh the risks? Absolutely not! Physicians say they cause bloated faces (a sign of steroid excess), shriveled testes, and in fertility; damage the liver and promote liver cancer; and causes changes in blood cholesterol levels (which may place long-term users at risk for coronary heart disease). Additionally, about one-third of anabolic steroid users develop serious psychiatric problems. Manic behavior in which the users undergo Jekyll-Hyde personality swings and become extremely violent (the so-called ‘roid rage) is common; so, too, are depression and delusions.

A recent arrival on the scene, sold over the counter as a “nutritional performance enhancer,” is androstenedione, which is converted to testosterone in the body. It is taken orally and much of it is destroyed by the liver soon after ingestion, but the few milligrams that survive temporarily boost testosterone levels. “Wannabe” athletes from the fifth grade up are said to be sweeping the supplement off the drugstore shelves. This is troubling; androstenedione is not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its long-term effects are unpredictable. Ongoing studies have found that males who took the supplement developed elevated levels of the female hormone estrogen as well as testosterone (raising their risk of feminizing effects such as enlarged breasts), early puberty, and stunted bone growth.

The question of why athletes use these drugs is easy to answer. Some say they are willing to do almost anything to win, short of killing themselves. Are they unwittingly doing this as well?

DIRECTIONS: Read all 4 articles on anabolic steroids. Some of the information repeats itself but each article contributes new information to your overall understanding. The last article is the most recently published so a few of the statistics may be different, as new information has been gathered. After reading the articles, answer the following questions.

QUESTIONS: Anabolic Steroids

1. What incident called international attention to the use of anabolic steroids among world-class athletes?

2. Why would law enforcement personnel use steroids?

3. What are some of the ethical and moral issues raised by the use of steroids?

4. What is “gynecomastia?”

5. What other effects, both positive and negative, do anabolic steroids have in adult males (at least 7 things)?

6. What effects do anabolic steroids have in adult females specifically (2 things)?

7. What is “stacking?”

8. How do some people report feeling after taking steroids?

9. What is the primary reason that boys take steroids?

10. What may steroid use in the U.S. say about us?

11. If steroids can cause so many health problems, why were steroids created in the first place?

12. What are the problems associated with “nutritional performance enhancers” and who is primarily using them?

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