Negative Effects of Performance Enhancing Drugs

What if the difference between making it in professional sports or not was taking steroids? Would you do it? This is the question that many athletes battle with all the time, because many of them believe in this performance enhancing drug and the effects it produces. Yes, it is true that steroids produce positive effects, such as muscle growth and strength, very quickly; however, many people, especially the young and uneducated, don’t understand the negative side effects that can occur in the long run. Steroids are transformed into testosterone when they enter the body, which is the male growth hormone that produces muscle and strength. “They boost the formation of red blood cells in men and enhance their ability to carry oxygen” (Drugs). They produce the short-term results that the athlete is looking for but cause many long-term effects. Some negative effects that occur in men after steroid use is kidney and liver damage, an unbalance of natural hormones, breasts, acne, stunted growth, aggression, genital changes, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and much more. Steroids do cut body fat and increase muscle tissue, but they are terrible for the human body and affect all parts of the body over a long period of time.

Younger kids are wanting to improve their bodies every year, because they are beginning to believe in the drug, and they are influenced by the athletes they look up to. Many professional athletes today are making huge salaries and feel that they have to perform their best at all times because of that and also because of the fans’ expectations. Many of these professional athletes feel pressured into using performance enhancing drugs like steroids, because they are always being watched every day they play, and these drugs enhance their performance, which is why they use them. Because the public is always watching them, many professional athletes are seen as heroes and are expected to be great all the time. When they perform great, young athletes imitate and want to be like them. When these young athletes are introduced to performance enhancing drugs, they might become influenced into using them, especially if they see that their heroes have used them. In the minds of the young athletes, if their heroes use them, then it must be okay for them to use the drugs too, especially if they don’t understand the negative consequences. It is extremely important that these young athletes become educated and understand the effects of performance enhancing drugs, especially steroids, so they can make good, healthy decisions not just for the game they play but also for their own lives.

Unfamiliar Terms:
1) Steroids: Any of a large class of organic compounds having as a basis 17 carbon atoms arranged in four rings fused together. Steroids include many biologically important compounds, including cholesterol and other sterols, the sex hormones (such as testosterone and estrogen), bile acids, adrenal hormones, plant alkaloids, and certain forms of vitamins.

I believe that this article is specifically aimed at young athletes. Young athletes today feel very pressured into using steroids because of their fast results in building muscle and strength. They see how good college and professional athletes are, which makes them feel like they want to be just as good or even better. Also, many high school athletes feel pressured into using steroids, because they want college scholarships, and size and strength will increase their odds in getting them. These young athletes are only concerned with the amazing short-term results rather than the long-term results. They either don't believe or don't care that there are very serious negative long-term effects, because the short-term effects are what matters to them at the time. This is why professional athletes are role models for young athletes, because they need to be the ones that show young athletes that they don't need to use steroids to be great. Professional athletes need to send a message to young athletes that it is hard work that makes a great athlete and not the supplements. I believe that the more young athletes hear and understand this message, the less likely they will use dangerous supplements like steroids.

"Drugs and Sports - Negative Effects of Steroids." 123HelpMe.com. 05 Mar 2009 .