The Dangers Of Anabolic Steroids

Steroids have a long-term, negative effect on the human body. These effects range from cardiovascular problems to mental and psychological issues such as rage and anger problems. Steroid use has been linked to increased alcohol consumption, marijuana use, cigarette smoking, and narcotic use (Buckman, Farris & Yusko, 2013). Many athletes may not be aware of the lasting effects steroids can have because all they are worried about is their performance, not their health.

The competitive drive to win at all cost is fierce among athletes. Winning at all cost often includes using one of many performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids. Many athletes use performance enhancing drugs, like steroids, to achieve higher goals and set higher records than other drug-free successful athletes. Although athletes are performing at higher levels when using such drugs, what is the cost? Finally anabolic steroids should remain banned from sports because their use results in many harmful side effects; because their use violates sports regulations, and because their use can cause death.

Steroids not only affect the body but also the mind too. It is proven that when an athlete takes steroids they tend to be more of an aggressive person in society’s eyes. The advantage of having an aggressive behavior is that the abuser is more focused and trains more intensely. The bad part about taking steroids is that the person becomes easily irritated and impatient. Even after an athlete stops using steroids they seem to develop depression because they experience withdraw symptoms. It is against federal law to use steroids without a prescription. Professional athletes usually do not think about how much trouble steroids can give them. In 1990, President George W. Bush signed a bill to put steroids in the category of methamphetamines, opium and morphine. If someone would get caught using steroids they could be punished up to one year in prison, a twenty thousand dollar fine, and a year of drug classes (New Law…).

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.

The market for top performing athletes in sports in the 21st century is a competitive one. Athletes are pushed to, be stronger, an heal from injuries faster. With the pressure to do well and get picked up by a professional team of sorts goes without saying that hard work is a must to elevate ones professional athletic career, but what if one has reached a plateau or hit a wall in a training regimen and just can not seem to push through? When some athletes hit the proverbial wall when training they turn to steroids. Ruth Wood in an article titled Anabolic Steroids: A Fatal Attraction? Writes, “Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are drugs of abuse. Despite bans on steroid use, Olympic

One of the most-treasured items a person can have is their health. Consequently, a great deal of money is spent on healthcare on account of people want to be healthy to do the things they enjoy in life. In the article “Steroid Abuse in Today’s Society,” states “There is increasing concern regarding possible serious health problems that are associated with the abuse of steroids, including both short-term and long-term side effects.” ("Steroid Abuse in Today's Society" 3). Unfortunately, there are side effects that will accompany someone who takes steroids. For women and men, steroids can cause masculinizing effects. These symptoms can cause fertility problems in both genders. Fortunately, by stopping the use of drugs can cause a shift in changing men’s health for the better, but for women the symptoms may never go away. Studies have not concluded the long-term effects of steroids, but in the worst cases, death can occur. Performance enhancement drugs are dangerous to an athlete’s

A person can take a good athlete, one who works hard training and conditioning and turn them into a great one with the use of anabolic steroids. Someone may ask how? In physical sports, the stronger, faster, and more endurance, the better of an advantage they have over the other person. A good example of this is in baseball. Take men like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa, all were men in baseball who could absolutely crush a baseball and all used steroids. In 1998, Mark McGwire, broke the record for most home runs in a single season, and he later admitted to using anabolic steroids when he broke the record. In an interview, he quoted “I wish I never played during the steroid era” this shows just how remorseful of the advantages he had from the steroids. The performance advantages that come with steroids also can come with financial advantages. With amazing performances by an athlete, they will be more sought after by other teams, and therefore, have a better chance of earning more money when contracts are proposed to them. Since they use steroids and perform at a higher skill level, they have a better chance of making more money compared to someone who does not. Alex Rodriguez signed a ten year contract with the New York Yankees for 275 million dollars. This made him the highest paid baseball player in history, and one of the highest paid athletes in the world. Then in 2014, he admitted to using steroids, while given immunity in a court of law, to confess who he purchased the drugs. For years, he used steroids to dominate in baseball, and establish his greatness as a player to earn a large contract before he was

Unfortunately, the use of steroids can easily lead to many major health problems. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse “Steroids abuse may lead to serious, even irreversible, health problems. Some of the most dangerous consequences…kidney impairment or failure; damage to the liver; and cardiovascular problems…leading to an increased risk of stroke and heart attack (even in young people)” (NIH). Steroids can affect an athlete by increasing the heart rate and decreasing the stamina, a fact that can lead to heart failure. Steroids can also affect the body with acne, abdominal pains, insomnia, and anaphylactic shock. When men use steroids the consequences are more crucial than women. For example, men may experience falling sperm count, shrinking testicles, and increased risk of fertility. On the other hand, women may show signs of masculinity (male type musculature) but also an increased risk of certain illnesses such as breast cancer. In general, steroids affect both of women and men by leading to terrible health problems. Dr. Larry Creswell, a well-known heart surgeon who studied the abuse of steroids, estimates that approximately 3 million Americans use steroids and he supports that the 70% of the athletes in the bodybuilding area, are steroid users. In addition, it is well known that steroids can also cause sudden deaths, sometimes in young athletes but most often occur within the ages of 35-50. In addition, Dr. Dickerman, a professor in the department of

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are a huge problem amongst today’s athletes. The use of these drugs has been around for many years in sports. Understanding anabolic-androgenic steroids and why people take them is needed in the process of trying to eliminate them from professional sports. Also, players knowing and understanding how the negatives of anabolic-androgenic steroid use outweigh the positives will hopefully help new players who are looking for an edge on the competition to refrain from the use of anabolic-androgenic steroids. Along with the harmful side effects players can experience from anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse, it also hurts the integrity of professional sports as a whole. Allowing players access to intervention programs and treatment can help to curb the widespread use of AAS. My goal in this paper is to show what anabolic-androgenic steroids are, why they impact sports in a negative way, and why they give professional athletes an unfair advantage and shouldn’t be a factor in sports.

Specifically, steroids have many bad side effects. Steroids increase the level of low-density lipoprotein and decrease the level of high-density lipoprotein, which could lead to a condition where there could be a disruption of blood flow, further leading to a heart attack (National Institute on Drug Abuse). By allowing PED use by athletes, the use of steroids would go up. If steroid use goes up, there’s a greater risk of athletes having heart attacks or strokes. Another possible side effect that comes with the use of steroids is liver tumors and peliosis hepatis. Both of these have been known to cause internal bleeding which is very dangerous (National Institute on Drug

Are you aware of 52 German athletes given anabolic steroids during the 1970's and 1980's who were examined in a 2007 study, one quarter got some form of cancer, one third reported thoughts or attempts of suicide, and the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth was 32 times higher than in the normal German population. Drug use in sports should not be allowed such as it already isn’t. Drugs use in sports such as steroids, can be good for the moment of the game, but after it could affect your body. But like all hormones, which regulate the body's most basic functions, throwing one's testosterone out of balance can have wide-ranging consequences. It is true that steroids build up your muscle although they are powerful hormones and affect the whole body. Side effects may include abnormally high levels of testosterone in the body and may include high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, liver damage, heart failure, acne, baldness, as well as aggressive and violent behavior. The use of drugs such as steroids, should not come into play when it comes to athletes, to play a sport you must have natural talent and not use steroids to make you even better, you gain an unfair advantage.

Anabolic androgenic steroids play an important role in the pharmaceutical industry and have many beneficial effects on sick patients. According to the Parssinen and Seppala the authors of the article “Steroid Use and Long-Term Health Risks in Former Athletes” they state that “Anabolic steroids and testosterone are effective and well tolerated pharmaceutical agents when administered for proper medical indications such as androgen replacement therapy, osteoporosis, aplastic anemia, and cancer.” (Parssinen, Seppala, pg. 1). The issue is that the abuse of steroids have increased within athletes and many doctors are concerned of the adverse effects that it will have.

Steroids are synthetic materials of the male sex chromosome, testosterone, that lead to addiction, mental abuse and physical harm. They are banned by many sports leagues, but some athletes do not take that into consideration. Many athletes use steroids illegally, for a multiple of reasons. Athletes use steroids in order to gain better physical body shape and game play. In reality they are only cheating the game and themselves, slowly breaking their bodies down. The steroid use has greatly increased from the past. An M.D named Dan Gwartney announces, “Currently, body builders are using much higher doses of anabolic steroids…” and “…body builders do not go ‘off-cycle’ at all.”(Gwartney), which adds even more risk to the human body because of the higher and more frequent use rate. Our bodies are not made to take in that much extra testosterone, but the increased want of money in America has now taken over a multiple of people to choose the looks and money over their own personal health. There are different types of steroids, all having negative effects, but the most commonly used and known steroid is an anabolic androgenic steroid. The effects of steroids vary from a man to a woman. For example, men begin to have the reduction of sperm, damage to the heart and the liver, pain while urinating, breast development, and a reduction to their testicles. Women begin to lose their breast, grow

There can be health related side effects associated with steroid use, but even most of these come with long term misuse of the hormone in question. Clinical case studies continue to link anabolic steroid administration with myocardial infarction, suicide, and cancer, but evidence to support a cause and effect relationship is lacking. On the other hand, there are several steroids

In the past three decades, steroids has been becoming a serious problem more than ever in the athletic field. Steroids are anabolic drug "to build" growth hormones that include the androgens (male sex hormones) principally testosterone and estrogen and progestogens (female sex hormones). Steroids were first developed for medical purposes. They're used in controlling inflammation, strengthening weakened hearts, preventing conception, and alleviating symptoms of arthritis and asthma. Unfortunately research has shown that steroids have been abused in almost every kind of sport. Although steroids contribute to a muscular body, usage should remain illegal because they physically deteriorate and mentally destroy the body.