Steroid Epidemic Research Paper

What is the first thing that comes to mind when steroids are discussed? Is it positive? Negative? What comes to mind for me is the vision of an extremely large man with bulging muscles like we see in bodybuilding competitions. These types of images are becoming extremely commonplace in society today, and also increasingly disturbing considering just a few short years ago the ‘bodybuilder’s body’ was just a niche in the sports world. But what drove this movement? There is no way to possibly limit this phenomenon into one single cause, but rather I can hazard a guess as to what I believe may be at the root of this ideal change. America, since the time it was founded, has grown increasingly confident in itself. This mindset has

Many children all across the United States and other countries try to replicate their favorite superstar athlete. Many athletes become the children’s idol and once the child learns that the athlete has cheated the game the athlete plays the child no longer looks up to the athlete. It is almost gotten to the point where no athlete that excels in a particular sport can be trusted. Every time a single athlete becomes great at their respective sport, speculation of steroid abuse immediately follows.

We as a people are preoccupied with the notion of greatness. Our role models are athletes, actors and actresses, and other figures in the public eye. Many of us often desire to be better off than our current state; to look better, to be in better shape, etc… We compete with each other for jobs, for mates, for grades, for parking spots, and in sporting activities. This competitive nature is a way of life, especially in sporting activities, often learned as a child and built upon throughout adulthood. But where do you draw the line? At what point do the “costs” of winning or being “better” outweigh the benefits? Maybe it’s too much when you start putting your own health in serious jeopardy

Drugs in sports is becoming a problem everywhere. “Another 26-year old athlete died of liver cancer after taking a number of different types of steroids over a four year period ” (Drugs and…). This is significant because this shows how dangerous drugs can be. If we have drug testing in schools this student could still be alive and would have stopped drugs before it got bad. The evidence points to the fact that drugs are a major health risk that is very concerning. In some cases taking drugs can even lead to death. In addition, another situation took place that affected a college student named Bob. Bob tried everything to gain weight so he could play football, so he chose to try steroids like everyone else. Steroids got him to play professional football, but horrible things were happening to him. He was having serious health problems. Bob quit drugs and is lucky to be alive (Drugs and…). This connects to the fact that doing drugs is a major

The abuse of steroids among players in Major League Baseball is corrupting the image of America's Pastime as well as endangering the health of those who use the illegal substances. The lack of testing and punishment for the use of illegal substances like steroids in the Major Leagues portrays a negative image to aspiring young athletes. They see their role models using steroids and becoming better athletes rather than seeing suspensions for the illegal behavior or the negative health effects.

Abstract:  With the increase of competition has also come the need to become bigger and stronger than the opponent.  The use of steroids among athletes has caused the focus of the game to change.  No longer does an athlete want to win by doing their best, but they want to become bigger and have an advantage over the opponent.  Ultimately, all athletes feel that they need to use performance-enhancing drugs to compete at the same level. Despite all of the warnings and information on performance-enhancing drugs, athletes continue to use them and overlook the potential health risks associated with steroids.

Athletics play such an important role in our society, but, unfortunately, some in professional sports are not setting much of an example. The use of performance-enhancing drugs like steroids in baseball, football, and other sports is dangerous, and it sends the wrong message -- that there are shortcuts to accomplishment, and that performance is more important than character. So tonight I call on team owners, union representatives, coaches, and players to take the lead, to send the right signal, to get tough, and to get rid of steroids now.”

The documentary called Bigger, Stronger, Faster by Chris Bell demonstrates Americas want to be the best vs. their desire to be moral. Throughout the movie Bell uses multiple examples on how steroids affect us both physically and mentally as well as their potential dangers. There are several things that make us American but Bell chooses this particular subject because of his own personally experiences with it as well as his families. As the audience we are taken into a glimpse of the Bell family’s everyday struggle with this emanate problem. Similar to what many of us have to face in society today.

On April 8, 1974 Hank Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth’s home run record. Later on, he had ended his career with 755 home runs. Thirty-three years had passed since that day Hank Aaron won the home run title. It was a cold Tuesday night on August 7, 2007 in San Francisco, over forty-three thousand people were inside of the AT&T Park. The pitcher for the Washington Nationals, Mike Bacsik, was pitching for the fifth inning when Barry Bonds went up for the bat. He pitched the ball, and Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run.

Within every gym and athletic practice across the United States there are secrets. These secrets are kept by public gyms, membership health clubs and even high school sports. This secret is killing our youth and disrupting the sportsmanship of not only the United States, but also on an international level. What I am referring to is the use of anabolic steroids. This epidemic is spreading through our country like a wildfire. It is going unnoticed and misunderstood. Even our government has not found the money the man power or the time to deal with this killer. It can be bought wherever pleasure or illicit drugs can be found.

“…medical researchers believe that between 1 and 3 million youths and adults have taken anabolic steroids in one form or another specifically to enhance their looks or athletic performances,” stated Nuwer (Nuwer, 61). As astounding as these figures are, the number of performance drug users is steadily increasing. With this progressively increasing numbers, it is projected that millions more will use steroids in the immediate future (Newer, 61). Athletes have always sought an advantage in competition even if ignoring the law and their health if necessary. Using drugs of any sort to facilitate an athlete’s athletic ability should be illegal. The use of performance enhancing drugs is not only detrimental to the user but it also creates an

I decided to help increase my writing’s boundaries, I would write about some everyday life  things that leak over into to

In the days when steroids were only being used by body builders and professional wrestlers, stories about performance enhancing drugs could only be found on the back pages of the newspapers. When former Oakland Raiders All-Pro Lyle Alzado admitted to steroid use in a 1991 Sports Illustrated article the whispers about what professional athletes were using steroids began to get louder. (Puma, 2005) Finally, in 2002, when Caminiti, a former MVP, came clean, two things were clear; athletes in all sports were using these drugs, and that they worked. The fact that steroid use had permeated our national pastime combined with the media explosion of the internet and 24 hour a day sports talk created a perfect storm which created the biggest sports story of the new millennium so far. However, two other facts remained clear, performance enhancing drugs were old news, and athletes in all sports from all over the world had been using them for years.

In order to resolve this issue, ATHENA and ATLAS create “squads” with leaders to create a positive peer influence against the use of steroids (“Athletes” Promising). ATLAS and ATHENA’s belief is that things such as scare tactics, and even drug testing aren’t enough of a scare to stop young athletes from using steroids (Kaminski). In order to end the use of performance enhancing drugs in high school athletes, ATHENA and ATLAS has created peer-lead programs within high schools in 31 different states to influence other students to avoid steroids, and rely on healthier alternatives to achieve greater athletic

With all the occurring issues the United States is currently facing, the rate of drug abuse is increasing rapidly. Botox, Steroids, etc all these are harsh substances that though they have their positive benefits, when they are consumed, negative effect is far worse than anything else. People desire to look their best, some go on diet, some exercise, while others use amplifiers or work out energizers. Substances known aiding effective work are protein shake and smoothies, but in order to get faster result some people take steroids. Athletes make news and sports headlines, because of the illegal use of steroids, to enhance their performance. It is difficult to get an estimation of the true prevalence of steroid use in the U.S, because many information and researches done to measure the rate of drug consumed. Most times the easy way seems like the best way out, the use of drugs, especially steroids for boosting up performance anywhere should not be encouraged, but when people demand for the best from everything, what choice is given?