Steroids In Sports

Steroids constitute drugs that are used in treating medical conditions such as hydrocortisone and cortisone prednisone. They duplicate human sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, which lead to the alteration of a person’s physical appearance. Although they can be prescribed by a physician, they have some effects to people using them. Therefore, they should never be used without the prescription of a physician for sporting activities (Beamish 158). This assignment will focus on discussing their causes and effects.

There are different reasons that cause individuals to use steroids. One of the reasons is that they are used in order to enhance athletic performance. Athletes use steroids so as to stimulate their muscles and compete effectively in competition. Most of the athletes that use steroids are those that are using steroids for their first time in order to test their effect during competition; besides, most of them constitute high school and college athletes since the use of steroids is not commonly tested in schools. The use of steroids by school students is because they are always looking for scholarships; since they know that better performance will guarantee them a scholarship, they turn to steroids so as to enhance their performance (Beamish 186). Another reason that leads to the use steroids entails the need to have a muscular look and become energetic. Individuals such as coaches in gyms have a desire in making their bodies look muscular; therefore, they turn to using steroids so as to enhance their bodies become muscular and huge. On the other hand, in sporting like weight lifting, individuals concentrate on using steroids in order to enhance their energy.

There are different individuals that need to improve their image; for example, movie stars, dancers and models, who participate in various sports. In order to enhance their image, these individuals turn to the use of steroids. On the other hand, because steroids enhance and repair the process of body tissue-building, they are used by individuals engaging in sports, who have some medical conditions such as weak bodies. This helps in building up their tissues; for example, some individuals with HIV Aids, who have a desire in participating in sports, use steroids to act as an energy booster.

The use of steroids has some effects to individuals using them. One of the effects constitute psychological effects. Steroids tend to increase the level of testosterone. An increased level of testosterone in the blood is usually associated with increased sexual desire, aggressiveness, and masculine behavior. Increased aggressiveness can be beneficial during athletic training; however, it can also lead to overt violence when outside the track or gym. Steroids also cause euphoria, sleeping disorders, paranoia, hallucinations, and pathological anxiety. The use of steroids also affects the cardiovascular system and serum lipoproteins (Lau 53). The use of steroids acts as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Total choresterol tends to rise, when an individual is using steroids; the increase in choresterol is a key risk factor for contracting cardiovascular diseases. Besides, the use of steroids has an effect on the male reproductive system. Since steroids duplicate testosterone, they have an effect on the male reproductive system. The use of steroids leads to supra-physiological concentration of testosterone or its derivatives; therefore, the production and release of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone is reduced. A prolonged use of steroids causes hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism and decreased serum concentration of follicle stimulating hormone, testosterone and luteinizing hormone. This causes the shrinkage of testicles, loss of hair and breast growth in men. Besides, they can increase the risk of men contracting testicular cancer.

The use of steroids also has an effect on females; females who use steroids in enhancing the shape of their bodies can have a deepened voice that is permanent, shrinking of breasts, and may also cause detrimental adjustments to the menstrual cycle. A continuous use of steroids causes depression and withdrawal; this leads to lack of social interaction or physical drive among the users, which is detrimental to sporting (Lau 87). Since one of the ways of taking steroids involves injecting drugs directly to the muscles, users can be vulnerable to diseases such as hepatitis and HIV aids because the injecting equipments are not always sterile. In addition, the use of steroids has an effect of causing stunted growth, liver damage, and kidney impairment. This is risky because it may expose individuals to other diseases,; this makes sports people inactive (Irving 174).

Conclusion

The use of steroids is usually because of varied reasons; some individuals use steroids to enhance their image and look muscular. Individuals such as movie stars and models use steroids in order to acquire the desired shape. Athletes use steroids in order to enhance their performance during competition; others such as gym coaches use steroids in order to enhance their body in becoming muscular. However, they cause shrinkage of the testes and low sperm count in males, while they cause menstrual adjustments and shrinkage of breasts in females. They also affect the physical drive amid users. All these adverse effects of steroids affect the ability of individuals to participate in sports (Lau 43).

Works Cited

Irving, Peter. Clinical Dilemmas in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: New Challenges. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Print.

Lau, Doretta. Steroids. New York: Rosen Central, 2008. Print.

Beamish, Rob. Steroids: A New Look at Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Print.