Essay/Term paper: Steroids

Essay, term paper, research paper:  English Papers

Many people have had their lives ruined by the use of illegal steroids, yet



the desired effects are so overwhelming that people tend to overlook the



consequences. Steroid users believe taking anabolic steroids will enhance their



performance, strength, size,etc. They regard the use of them as legitimate as any



other aspect of training.



To begin with, the term "anabolic " means "to build tissue," therefore



anabolic steroids tend to increase constructive metabolic pathways within the



body. Also, anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the natural male



sex hormone, testosterone.



Testosterone was the first steroid developed, a natural occuring hormone in



many plants and animals. The first clinical use of testosterone occured in 1958



when physicians injected it into underweight and ill patients to simualte weight



gain. The first reported use of steroids in a non-medical setting occured during



World War II. Steroids were adminstered by Nazi doctors into German soldiers to



enhance their aggressiveness. The Soviet Union noted the Nazis' use of the drug



and recognized that enhanced aggressiveness, increasing in strength, and size



could be desirable in athletic competition. The Soviets experimented with steroids



in the early 1950's and it is believed that they were used in the 1952 Olympic



games.



The introduction of steroids into the United States is often attributed to the



late Dr. John Ziegler, the team physician for the United States weightlifting team



at the last Vienna World Power lifting championships. A Soviet physician told



Ziegler that some of the members fo the Soviet team were using testosterone as an



aid to enhance their strength. Ziegler was impressed with the results and began



conducting some studies on American lifters. The results were the development



and introduction of the steroid Dianobol, an anabolic steroid with fewer



masculinizing properties than testosterone. Dianobol became well known in the



athletic world. By the 1956 Melbourne Olympic games, steroid use had escalated



to the point that many Olympic competetors in the strength events were either



using them or were aware of their performance ehancing abilties.



Anabolic steroids are all derivatives of the male sex hormone testosterone.



With the use of steroids a person will receive two types of effects from the use.



The first is the androgenic effects or masculinizing. These are the unwanted



effects such as the enlarging of the prostate, growth of male sex glands, deepening



of the voice, and increased facial hair(other steroids were developed in an attempt



to separate these effects of testosterone from the anabolic). The other effect is



anabolic effects, the wanted effects. There are three major benefits that are



wanted from steroid use and they are: Frist athletes will attain a greater increase



in lean muscle mass and strength when it is used with a combination of rigorous



training and the drug. The second major benefit of the steroid use is that the



athlete's body suffers less breakdown. This decrease in muscle breakdown and



recovery time permits more frequent training sessions at higher intensity and for



longer periods of time. The third benefit is the increased aggresiveness they are



believed to simulate. This increased aggresssiveness may drive athletes to train



harder and longer without the usual fatigue. Other positive effects of using



steroids is increases in; storage of muscle glycogen, blood volume, a general



boasting of the immune system, and the reduction of body fat percentage. The



effects are maintained as long as the athlete continues the steroid use.



Anabolic steroids also have a number of potentially harmful side effects.



The introduction of synthetic hormones results in decreased levels of other natural



hormones. This worsens acne and accelerates baldness. This can also result in



the decrease production of sperm and testosterone by the testes, which can lead to



atrophy of the testes. Increased incidents of liver tumors and abnormal liver



funtions have been noted in patients using anabolic steroids. Liver, prostate, and



testicular cancer have been linked to steroid use, particularly oral steroids.



Increases in high density cholesterol is noted in people using steroids, suggesting



hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, and blood-clotting disorders. Also,



athletes using steroids seem to be suffering many more muscle and tendon injuries.



Some doctors wonder if it is the drug-induced brittelness of the muscle or tendon



or the heavier weights that is being lifted. Others think the increased



aggressiveness causes lifters to ignore warning signals from an overworked body



and they train harder than they should.



In adult women, severe masculinizing effects have been documented



including hair growth onthe cheeks and the chin, male patern baldness, irreversible



deepening of the voice, shrinkage of the breast size, uterine atrophy, and menstrual



irregularities. In pre-adults, anabolic steroids can cause the premature closure of



the bone growth plates resulting in shorter structures.



Another major side effect includes what has been popularly called "roid



rage". For training and competition, the increased aggressiveness has been



classified as a benefit of steroid use; however, with increasing dosage, the



increased aggression will have an adverse effect. Wild aggression and paranoid



delusions are common in some steroid users, and they may also suffer from major



depressions and peroids of spontaneous violence.



Steroids can also be both physicaly and psychologically addictive.



Physcially many many athletes experience severe depressions following periods of



not taking the drug, similar to that of any other drug addict. Psychologically,



steroid use can be compulsive and unstoppable in what has been termed by the



medical community as "reversed anorexia". The steroid users have an



uncontrollable obsession with being big instead of skinny. This obsession results



in the continuing or increased usage of anabolic steroids.



The use of steroids in the United States has been estimated as high as one



million persons, or one in every two hundred-fifty people. The major reason for



this large amount of useage is that sports have envolved from recreational pastime



to a lucrative money-making venture at the professional level. Speed and strength



have opened the door to financial opportunities and a bond has been formed



between sports and steroids. The concept of sports as a fun recreational activity



has been surpassed by sports as a business. Many athletes will sell their bodies to



steroids for an opportunity to win a spot on a professional roster or winning a gold



medal in the Olympics. Since the introduction of steroids to sports, the reason for



their use has remained the same; the pursuit of the winning edge.