Anabolic Steroids: And the High School Athlete
Anabolic steroid abuse has become a national concern among high school
athletes. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of athletes using
these performance enhancing drugs in high school almost double the number using
since the 1980’s. These athletes feel that steroids gives them the competitive
edge that they think they need to boost themselves past the competition.
Steroids have been used in bodybuilding and other sports since the 1950's.
Nowadays, athletes from all walks of life use them. It's not uncommon for
athletes such as bodybuilders, football players, boxers, sprinters, and
especially powerlifters to use them on a year round basis. Some professional
bodybuilders admit to using over 10 times the normal effective dosage for
testosterone. Steroids and sports go hand in hand in many ways. They were legal
until 1990 when they joined other banned substances such as cocaine, heroin,
and methamphetamines as being illegal. Many athletes including Arnold
Schwarzenegger and football great Lyle Alzado have admitted to using them to
help them become better athletes. Because they are illegal without a
prescription in almost every country in the world they are only available to
the recreational user on the "black market". The black market
consists of all steroidal substances, counterfeits, and other illegal drugs
that are purchased from a source other than directly from a pharmacy or a
physician. As everyone knows, when a product is available only on the black
market the demand of it goes up while the supply goes down. This means that a
very high percentage of all athletes that use them are doing so illegally. This
is a major reason why steroids have become so popular among high school
athletes, there so easy to obtain.
Once viewed as a problem only associated with professional athletes, recent
reports estimate that 5 to 12 percent of male high school students and 1
percent of female students have used anabolic steroids by the time they were
seniors. The athletes using these drugs don’t belong to one particular sport,
these users play sports ranging from girls tennis all the way to boys swimming
all of which have the same goal in common, to gain the upper hand. They are
usually used during training to build muscles and contrary to popular belief
are not usually used when the athlete is competing. There is widespread use of
steroids in the body builder’s world due to the ability of steroids to make
muscles larger at an increased rate when used with regular weight training.
Before I tell you about the users I want to give you a little background
information on this illegal substance. Anabolic/androgenic steroids are
synthetic substances related to the male hormone testosterone. These substances
have two effects, the androgenic which is causing the body to become more male,
even if the user is female and the anabolic, tissue building phase of the use.
Most people who use steroids want the tissue building effect and so use
steroids with higher anabolic than androgenic properties. Anabolic steroids are
banned in most sports, any athlete found using them is usually suspended for
long periods and stripped of any titles they may have gained while they were
using steroids.
Steroids come in two forms, either injectable or as tablets which are swallowed
and which are broken down and transferred directly into the testosterone
producing organs. Injectable steroids seem to cause less damage in men but the
steroids in pill form may be less dangerous for women, as they do not damage
the liver as much as steroids that are swallowed as pills. However, people
using injectable steroids run all the risk associated with injecting any drug,
that brings me to the effects steroids have on the body.
First let me tell you about the positive effects that steroids posess for the
successing high school athlete. They have a tremendous phsycological affect on
the teenage mind. Just by taking these drugs it could transform the most
un-athletic and up-popular kid on the team into the most feared and physically
greater than anyone on the team. In a recent study by the University of Georgia
provided that men ages 17-18 taking steroids for 1 year lost 15% of there body
fat and gained 30 pounds in muscle weight, that fact alone is enough convincing
that most under-achieving high school athletes need to get on these drugs
(Gallaway pg 78). These sound like a wonder drug, but there are many more and
far worse negative effects.
The negative effects of these drugs range far and many. For men the effects are
much worse. For instance there is increased irritability and aggressiveness
also called “roid rages”. Then comes the Acne, due to the stimulation of the
oil glands in the skin. You can also start developing premature hair loss and a
bloated appearance from excess salt and water being retained by the body. The
last effect is due to the effect of steroids on the testicles. The brain
monitors the amount of testosterone in the body, if it detects a large amount (due
to steroids) it will stop the testicles producing more and so less sperm is
produced and impotence may occur, which also may result in a decreased sex
drive. Apart from the hair loss, the above effects are generally reversible
upon stopping steroid use. Adolescent steroid use may lead to a premature
fusion of the epiphyses (the end of growing bones) which can lead to stunted
growth.(Paterson pg 102)
Long term heavy steroid use may cause damage to the heart, liver and kidneys.
Heart problems are due to the blocking of arteries by fatty deposits and
increased blood pressure due to water and salt being kept in the body (both
could lead to a heart attack). Possible liver problems include jaundice, cancer
of the liver and formation of blood 'blisters' in the liver tissue. In women
steroids have a masculinising effect and can lead to growth of facial and body
hair, baldness, voice deepening, and disruption of the menstrual cycle. In the
main these effects are reversible. Steroids taken as tablets seem to cause less
damage to women as they pass out of the body more quickly than injectable
steroids. However, the liver is smaller in women and so is more likely to be
damaged, whether they take tablet or injectible steroids.
A new drug prevention and education program is extremely effective in
discouraging use of anabolic steroids among high school athletes, according to
a recent study. This study demonstrated that students in the prevention program
had enhanced healthy behaviors, reduced factors that encourage steroid use and
lessen the intent to use steroids. Early attempts to prevent steroid abuse
concentrated on drug testing and on educating students about the drugs' adverse
effects. A few school districts test for abuse of illicit drugs, including
steroids, and studies are currently under way to determine whether such testing
reduces drug abuse. Research on steroid educational programs has shown that
simply teaching students about steroids' adverse effects does not convince them
that they personally can be adversely affected. Neither does such instruction
discourage young people from taking steroids in the future. Presenting both the
risks and benefits of anabolic steroid use is more effective in convincing
adolescents about steroids negative effects, apparently because the students
find a balanced approach more credible and less biased, according to the
researchers. However, the balanced approach still does not discourage High
school students from abusing steroids. A better approach has shown promise for
preventing steroid abuse among players on high school sports teams.
In the ATLAS program, developed for male football players, coaches and team
leaders discuss the potential effects of anabolic steroids and other illicit
drugs on immediate sports performance, and they teach how to refuse offers of
drugs. They also discuss how strength training and proper nutrition can help
adolescents build their bodies without the use of steroids. Later, special
trainers teach the players proper weightlifting techniques. An ongoing series
of studies has shown that this team-centered approach reduces new steroid abuse
by 50 percent. A program designed for adolescent girls on sports teams,
patterned after the program designed for boys, is currently being tested. Some
medications that have been used for treating steroid withdrawal, restore the
hormonal system after its disruption by steroid abuse. Other medications target
specific withdrawal symptoms, for example, antidepressants to treat depression,
and analgesics for head aches and muscle and joint pains ( May pg 65).
Some patients require assistance beyond simple treatment of withdrawal symptoms
and are treated with behavioral therapies.
Compared to student athletes who were not exposed to the program, ATLAS
participants had increased understanding of the effects of steroids, greater
belief in personal vulnerability to the consequences of steroid use, improved
drug-refusal skills, less belief in steroid-promoting media messages, increased
belief in the team as an information source, improved perception of athletic
abilities and strength training self-efficacy, improved nutrition and exercise
behaviors and reduced intentions to use steroids.