Anabolic steroids are the quickest known way for male athletes to improve

their bodies and excel in sports, but not necessarily the safest. The
Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol defines anabolic steroids as the synthetic
versions of the naturally occurring male sex hormone testosterone; they are
properly called anabolic-androgen steroids because they have both body
building (anabolic) and masculinizing (androgenic) effects. Anabolic steroids
have been around for many years, dating back to the 1930s, where they
were primarily used to treat hypogonadism, a condition in which the testicles
do not produce enough testosterone for normal growth, development, and
sexual functioning. Shortly after their discovery, people began abusing them.
In World War II for example, German troops were given anabolic steroids to
improve muscle strength as well as increasing aggressiveness to fight at war
(Wadler and Hainline). The first abuse of steroids in sports did not occur until
the 1950s, when Russian athletes began taking steroids to increase weight
and strength. The Russians use of anabolic steroids led to the development of
anabolic steroids in the United States. Steroids have come a long way since
then. They now serve an important role in assisting patients with many
medical conditions. They are often given to patients with abnormally low
amounts of testosterone, such as delayed puberty and some types of
impotence, as well as treating people with AIDS and other diseases that
waste away their bodies (NIDA). In the United States anabolic steroids are
available legally, but they require a prescription.
Too frequently teenage male athletes use anabolic steroids to improve their
bodies for certain sports, however they completely disregard the obvious
short term and long term effects that are associated with the steroids. From
past high school experiences I have seen the effects of steroids first hand. All
of the male athletes that used steroids only had one reason to take them,
which was to get an advantage over their opponents, whether they were
playing on the football team, track team, or baseball team, the students that
abused steroids were simple to pick out of a crowd. Very often they would
have needle marks on their bodies from injections, as well as gaining a huge
amount of muscle mass in a short period of time. Along with the increased
body size whey would get severe cases of acne and their personality would
change extensively. The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimates that
500,000 young Americans are taking steroids every year. The number of
sophomore boys taking steroids increased from 2% to 2.7% last year and
since 1991 the number of sophomores that use steroids has increased 50%.
(Healtheon/WebMD).
The side effects that are associated with steroids clearly outweigh the
benefits. For example, In the late 1970s and mid 80s, Lyle Alzado was one of
the top players in the National Football League. He had a huge, muscular
body that struck fear into every opponent, and upon his retirement in 1986

he was noted as one of the best linebackers ever. In 1991, he reappeared in

the news, not for his great accomplishments in the NFL, but rather to admit to
using anabolic steroids throughout his entire career. Not only did he ignore
his doctors warnings urging him to stop using steroids early in his career, but
he continued using them after his retirement. Alzado exposed that he had
beaten his wife due to steroid-induced rages, and he also spoke about how
his lifetime use of steroids brought upon fatal brain cancer. He spent the final
months of his life speaking out about the dangers of anabolic steroids
(Lovitch). There are many other adverse effects of anabolic steroids besides
the brain cancer that Alzado suffered from. Alan Leshner,director of the
National Institute of Drug Abuse, claims,
Those young people think theyre building better
bodies, but at the same time, when the boys
are trying to get bigger muscles, theyre also
getting shrunken testicles; theyre growing
breasts and developing acne (Healtheon/WebMD).
Some of the effects are reversible, however many of them are not. The
reversible effects of steroids in males are shrinkage of the testicles also
known as testicular atrophy and reduced sperm production. The irreversible
conditions consist of male-pattern baldness, gynecomastia (breast
development), priapism (persistent and painful erection), and enlarged
prostate. (NIDA). A study conducted by the American Medical Association
compared 88 athletes that were steroid users to 68 non-users. They
concluded that steroid users displayed more frequent gynecomastia,
decreased testicular length, and higher cholesterol than non-users and it also
found that 23% of the steroid users suffered from major mood syndromes
(Katz). Steroids also cause high blood pressure, stress, and more serious
neurological problems. Users of steroids tend to become more aggressive
over time and periodically go into uncontrollable roid rages (Lovitch).
There are two ways in which people take steroids, either orally or by
intramuscular injection. Steroids, when taken orally, come in the form of a
capsule or tablet. These capsules or tablets are only effective for short
periods of time before they are broken down and as an result, must be taken
in large doses up to 200mg a day (ROID). There are huge health risks that
come along with taking steroids orally. One of the major health risks
associated with taking steroids by ingestion is liver damage. One of the most
deadly effects of taking steroids orally is liver toxicity, which is caused by the
pills being broken down all at once, putting a huge strain on the liver,
therefore prolonged use of steroids can cause jaundice, hepatic cholestasis,

liver tumors, or fatal liver failure (Yesalis). When steroids are taken by
intramuscular injection, they tend to less toxic on the liver because they have
an altered chemical composition that allows them to stay intact through the
digestive process and liver metabolism (ROID). One of the major concerns
regarding intramuscular injection is the risk of getting AIDS from a
contaminated needle. The National Institute of Drug Abuse has concluded
that 63% of teenage steroid users take steroids orally rather than by
intramuscular injection.
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