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Anabolic Steroids
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Anabolic Steroids Since the 1950s athletes have been using many different assortments and variations of anabolic steroids in order to increase their muscle mass and athletic performance. Yet, only recently over the last ten to twenty years has the general public also began to indulge in anabolic steroid use. The main sect of the population that has allowed anabolic steroids to become so widespread over the years has been athletes at all levels of competition. From paid professional athletes to high school and junior high school performers, anabolic steroids has become a recent epidemic in all facets of athletics. The only way to prevent anabolic steroid use from growing is by defining what an anabolic steroid is, by discussing reasons for potential use, through teaching others about the physical and physiological effects of anabolic steroids, and some recent programs to prevent steroid use. The origin of anabolic steroids comes from the male sex hormone taken in order to increase growth and weight gain. They work by increasing the metabolic process during protein synthesis. The world was first introduced to this sex hormone during the late 1930s where most steroids were used to treat hypogonadism, which is a condition when a male does not produce sufficient testosterone for normal growth, development, and sexual functioning. Also during the 1930s it was discovered that anabolic steroids increased the skeletal growth of laboratory animals, which subsequently led anabolic steroids to be used by body builders and weightlifters. The use of anabolic steroids in these athletic fields were soon banned from the sports because habitual use of the drug often affected the outcome of these contests. This is why today most steroids are illegal and the only way to acquire them is through illegal smuggling of the product. Besides true anabolic steroids there are steroid supplements that can be used as alternatives to this illegal drug. Some examples of steroid supplements that can be purchased legally are aredehydroepian-drosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione (Andro). These types of steroid supplements along with other true illegal anabolic steroids can be taken orally, injected into the muscle, or rubbed on the skin in the form of gels and creams. Most anabolic steroids are used in a pattern called cycling where an athlete takes multiple doses of the steroids rotating being on and off the drug over a certain period of time. Also many anabolic steroid users often combine different types of steroids in a process called stacking where users believe that by taking an assortment of steroids that they will produce a greater muscle development then taking the steroids individually. Finally, another way of taking steroids is through a method called pyramiding where users slowly increase steroid use until they reach a certain point where they then slowly decrease steroid use until they are completely off the drug. No matter how or what type of steroid or steroid supplement a person decides to use there are reasons for every athletes or ordinary persons rational to indulge in and become a statistic of the soaring increase in anabolic steroid use. Surprising it is not only football players or weightlifters that are users of anabolic steroids but steroid users range from every possible spectrum. White and blue collar workers and females are also common anabolic steroid users, but recently anabolic steroids have become popular among adolescents who feel steroids will help them look, feel, and perform better in every facet of their young lives. Recent surveys have shown that 2.8% of 8th graders, 3.5% of 10th graders, and 3.5 % of 12th graders (Drug Facts) have reported using steroids at one point in their lives. Also among 19-22 year olds surveyed in 2000, 18.9% reported having a friend who was a current user of anabolic steroids. In each category, anabolic steroid use is up considerably since the previous year for high school students and young adults. These statistics make it obvious that anabolic steroid use has increased each year and has become more common for high school students and athletes. The main reason for their use in many adolescents is that it is believed anabolic steroid use will help improve their athletic performance. Yet, no anabolic steroid legal or illegally improves an athletes agility, skill, or cardiovascular capacity. The only way an anabolic steroid can improve athletic ability is through increased muscle mass and strength. For this reason, anabolic steroid use typically depends on the type of sport with weightlifters and football players being the most predominant users.
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