athletes-on-steroids
Steroids are the performance-enhancing substances that make the lives of high school athletes more losses than wins.  It led to the death of athletes like Rob Garibaldi of Petaluma, California, and Taylor Hooton of Plano, Texas.
Sports Weekly recently conducted a committee discussion with athletes from schools in the metropolitan Washington area.  The purpose of this discussion was to hear directly from this impressionable group.  Here is what they learned.

• The use of steroids takes place openly in the weight rooms, locker rooms and even in the cafeterias of public and private high schools.

• Athletes and coaches know what’s going on but are often incapable to stop the use of steroids and unfortunately some are willing to turn a blind eye.

• Many athletes saw no other choice but to use performance enhancer substances because the pressure to win is enormous. That pressure extends to coaches, administrators and athletes  who are also competing for college scholarships.

It is actually cheating; it gives an unfair advantage to honest players and takes opportunities away from players who are trying their best to make it on their own.

An independent survey estimates that  1.5-2% of high school athletes in Florida alone might be using steroids.

“Against a student base of 215,000 athletes, it’s really a scary to think that possibly 4,000 are at risk out there,” John Stewart, commissioner of The Florida High School Athletic Association .  He also continued to say, “We don’t want to see any teenages’ life at risk.”
Stewart is also concerned about a study that showed not only weightlifters and football players, but also 9-11 year old females using steroids to enhance their build.

“That scares me because it means parents are buying them for their kids. And it’s a lot scary that society is dictating to kids that it’s OK to have a body type even if means putting their health and life at risk,” Stewart says.

Anabolic steroid being used by teenagers is not rare or new.  Studies estimate that 1 out of 20 high school students are taking or have taken these performance enhancer products. The American College of Sports Medicine issued a statement regarding this problem more than 30 years ago, and soon, the American Academy of Pediatrics followed with their policy statement:

“Anabolic steroids are linked with a long list of other potential adverse effects.
In males, decreased production of testosterone and sperm, shrinking of the testes and possibility of impotence, in addition with prostatic overgrowth and possibly prostate cancer are on line.
In females, increased hairiness, active growth of acne-causing hormones, loss of menstrual periods are some of the effects.
In all users, liver damage, increased frequency of muscle ruptures and strains and mental and psychological changes such as irritability, aggressiveness, and “roid rage” are possible.Mood swings, from euphoria to depression, altered libido and psychosis are common effects of using steroids.”

Some of these side effects are trying to be linked to and may cause the threat of premature heart attacks and strokes, but it still remains unproven at this time. The vast majorities of student/athletes consider steroid use “cheating” and acknowledge some degree of health risks, but some are still willing to sacrifice long-term health for short-term benefits. And that’s the scary truth.

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