THE EFFECTS OF STEROIDS ON STUDENTS THAT PLAY SPORTS AT HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL 1. RESEARCH PROPOSAL RESEARCH QUESTION What health effects do steroids have on high school students that play sports? HYPOTHESIS Students that use steroids for high school sports have an improved performance but experience negative health effects on their bodies. 2. MOTIVATION OF RESEARCH This area of research affects all students that partake in sporting activities in high school. Sports competitions are increasingly becoming an important part of a student’s high school profile as students that do well are given preference when it comes to scholarships, university acceptance and job applications. This has led to many students relying on steroids to boost their …show more content…
Examples of health issues are increased cholesterol, high blood pressure, heightened sex characteristics (such as increased facial and body hair & deeper voice in women; baldness and impotence in men), liver damage and so many more. The effects of anabolic steroids can destroy the body and affect the mind by causing harm to it. Anabolic steroids are also known for affecting one’s behaviour as they often make individuals more violent as they are easily annoyed. This behaviour could lead to criminal acts such as fighting, burglary, and vandalism (Abuse, N. I. (2006). Anabolic Steroid Abuse. Washington DC: US Department on Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health). In addition to the information mentioned above, some of the detrimental effects steroids have on the body are long-lasting and sometimes irreversible side effects. Certain effects that anabolic steroids have been linked to include; problems with the musculoskeletal system, urinary & bowel problems, stroke and shrinking of the testicles. “Since steroids are a hormone, much like testosterone, the effects on sex characteristics can be far reaching, causing a kind of hyper-masculinity in young men. The excess of testosterone can …show more content…
This happens because the sudden elimination or decrease of a hormone in the body can lead to very serious health effects that can result to injury or even death. That is why discontinuation of anabolic steroids too quickly is an improper way to evade the effects of steroids as the withdrawal process comes with side effects of its own. These withdrawal symptoms are the long term effects that the athlete (steroid taking individual) will have to live with in the long run. Examples of some of these include apathy and depression, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, a decreased sex drive, joint and muscle pain &
Through the late 90s and early 2000s, steroid use came into the forefront of Major League Baseball. When high school athletes see their role models abusing these drugs and getting away with it, it can cause a negative impact on their decisions. In a 2002 National Institute of Drug Abuse study, 2.5% of 8th graders, 2.5% of 10th graders, and 4% of 12th graders admitted to using steroids at some time. It is reported that 6% of athletes have used steroids, but the actual number is thought to be much higher.
Why are steroids bad? Steroids are bad because of the adverse side effects that result from long term and improper use. Most side effects are reversible, however, some are not. Like a lot of drugs, steroids promote addictive behavior. This often leads to long term use of highly androgenic drugs, which suppresses the bodies natural ability to produce testosterone and leads to negative side effects such as gynecomastia.
Along with these side effects another notable effect of steroids is known as “roid rage”. “Steroid use and aggression” by Cherry Pedrick states, “In Anabolic Steroids and the Mind, Brian Corrigan divides the psychological changes that can occur as a result of anabolic steroid use into three groups, representing mild to severe changes that can occur on a continuum with larger doses or extended use. 1.Mood changes, euphoria, increased confidence, energy and self-esteem, enhanced motivation and enthusiasm, diminished fatigue, sleeplessness, ability to train through pain. Libido can increase or decrease. There can be irritability, anger, agitation, and a “strange edgy feeling. 2.
Even though the Germans introduced anabolic steroids to the world, the Soviets truly pioneered the use of steroids in professional sports. This section of the research will display the usage of anabolic steroids in the Olympics, Major League Baseball, and professional
Steroids should only be used for medical reasons and not for better performance. I cannot seem to understand why athletes would take any kind of drug without medical advice or take any drug with so many hazardous side effects. There are reasons why people do what they do, but after researching performance enhancing drugs, I would not think of any reason to use such a drug with so many ill side effects. In my opinion, if you do not have the natural ability and have to rely on a performance-enhancing type of drug, you should not be playing. Drug testing would be the best idea, but it is still not 100% on results quite yet.
Another major side effect of steroids causes the victim to be very delusional, having “beliefs of invincibility, paranoid jealousy, excessive irritability, moodiness, and impaired judgement” (Mangan). Even though these athletes were distressed by the side effects of steroids, the idea for taking the drug was to raise their reputation as a MLB
In addition to these side effects, anabolic-androgenic steroids may hindering the immune system, putting abusers at risk for infections. Injection of anabolic-androgen steroids also put people at risk of contracting hepatitis and HIV (Kersey et al.,
Every year the size of players ascends and these abusers continue to get away with little to no punishment. Highly sought after high school recruits turn to these to put on size before their first season of college football and collegiate players use them to prep for their possible future in the NFL. Due to the lack of testing, the upside for student-athletes to juice has almost become greater than the latter. Particularly in high school, the chance of a player actually getting busted does not deter them from cheating and trying to pack on excessive amounts of muscle. Every year parents lose kids that have thought they needed steroids to get bigger or improve their image.
There are many arguments supporting the ban of PEDs from professional sports. A science-based argument against the use of PEDs in sports includes the possible side effects that accompany PEDs. Using PEDs can be detrimental to ones health and each drug comes with different unwanted side effects. The side effects range from superficial problems to long-term high-risk medical problems. The side effects aren’t just physiological but psychological too.
Anabolic steroids are often used by athletes in order to gain muscle in a shorter amount of time compared to if they workout without the use of steroids. Steroids work by the synthetic hormones in them mimicking testosterone to stimulate protein formation in the muscle and it also reduces the amount of rest needed before working out again, allowing the user to maximize their amount of muscles. It seems ideal; however, it has several health risks that can cause serious damage to the liver, cardiovascular system, and reproductive system. The user of steroids knows these risks, but some continue to use them. Recently there has been an increase in steroid use in high school students.
The abuse of anabolic steroids can lead to the enlargement of the heart, which can cause severe problems. Other health risks include: w problems with the kidneys, liver, blood pressure and cholesterol. Kidney problems could lead to kidney failure and liver failure, which ultimately could lead to death. These risks are specific to an individual and are also dependent on the age and sex of the
Another bad thing that PEDs can cause is bad acne, an increase in good and bad cholesterol, high blood pressure, and violence, rage, and anger issues. Another downside of doping is if you get caught doping, you could never compete again as an athlete. They can make you bald, give you mood swings, Depression issues, They are addictive, and they can also make your tendons more likely to become sore or
Lastly (transition), many athletes that use steroids are better than their opponents, by cheating. Athletes that use steroids should have bigger consequences. First of all (transitions), reports show that athletes that use steroids have a number of health issues. According to www.drugabuse.gov , all steroid users could get liver damage, heart disease, changes in cholesterol, and weight loss. While (conjunctions) males will develop breast, have shrinking testicals,
Steroids are very unhealthy for multiple parts of the human body, many health issues can arise from the use of such a drug. Primarily, the users’ continuous use of the drug will deplete the body’s ability to produce testosterone
Take Barry Bonds for example, he is pretty much the poster child for using steroids. Berry Bonds lied for many years that he was not using steroids, but the government knew the truth. In fact, the feds opened a case that cost almost 100 million dollars but soon paid off since after 8 years they proved that he was using steroids (Famous Baseball Players Who Used Steroids.). Than on April 13, 2011, Berry Bond was found guilty by the court and lost his career. Discuss the effects of steroid use on athletic performance.