Contemporary Health Issues: Controversy of using Anabolic Steroids in Sports performance

Are you a fan of Baseball or olympic athletics ? If yes , you should have some exciting memories about those fascinating baseball players or track runners who had a very good career with his extraordinary performances on the field. Unfortunately , some of those "Glorious " players were then discovered that they had abused some Anabolic Androgenic Steroids, then, eventually, all of their championships or titles earned were demolished.

These cases are often heard during olympic or top-level sports seasons , even though EACH professional athlete understands that it is illegal to take those anabolic androgenic steroids as sports enhancements.

This issue brings out another question " Why are they still risking to do this ? "

Well, before talking about the pros and cons of using Anabolic androgenic Steroids , I would like to briefly explain and introduce what actually is an anabolic steroid. Anabolic Steroids are known as a kind of anabolic-androgen steroids (AAS) , which was a synthetic product by chemical synthesis to create a synthetic ketone base product which could give the miracle effects of the Hormone Testosterone. Which gives similar functions of the Testosterone , that will increase production of proteins that act as building blocks for muscle cells, bone, and other tissues within the body.

In the 1940s , Soviet scientists first produced it and injected the anabolic androgen steroids to their athletes , and they discovered that the anabolic steroids worked just like magic , which boost a large amount of lean muscle mass and bone mass in their athletes , resulting a very significant advantage for professional sports athletes.

"So , how does the anabolic steroids make a significant effect ?"

Actually , the anabolic androgenic steroids gives nearly everything that a perfect athlete wished to have. For example , The effects of increase of body muscle mass with anabolic steroids will boost into a number where normal weight training will never achieve alone. Besides , the anabolic androgenic steroids will increase the bone mass of the person and hence increases his abilities to yield more muscle weight and strength , moreover , the anabolic steroids greatly decrease the time for the recovery and decreases the formation of adipose tissues , last but not the least , it also increase physical endurance to the person who took the anabolic steroids.

Therefore, with the "aid" of anabolic steroids , the athlete could heal quick and build more and achieve better performances much easier. But , on the other hand , are there any threats when utilizing these sorts of anabolic steroids ?

Actually , there are some side effects for using anabolic steroids. According to the Research Report of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, there are lots of health risks when utilizing anabolic androgenic steroids , for example , it will increase blood pressure and greatly increase the proportion and amount of bad cholesterol in the blood , therefore , it greatly increases risks of cerebrovascular diseases and cardiovascular diseases. The high dosage of anabolic steroids will also result a great demand on the liver's detoxification power , hence , it will eventually cause liver damage and lead to sorts of liver related diseases, most likely as developing into Liver Cancer. In some cases , it has been reported that it may cause reduced sex function and decreased size of testicles in Men , it also shows that there are some consequences for women too , such as male-pattern baldness and development of the clitoris etc.

" Is this all about physical damage when applying anabolic steroids ? "

No , apart from the physical or biological damage to the body , it will also cause a change of behaviour of the person after using anabolic steroids. According to the CNS review in 2005 , there would be some psychiatric symptoms which includes increased level of aggression and violence, mania, and reduced psychosis, in some extreme cases, suicide may also occur. Generally, for athletes who wish to gain the power from anabolic steroids , it usually require a certain amount and requires some time , therefore , this may lead to dependance on the anabolic steroids , hence , anabolic steroids may become a kind of "Drug" to them.

"Oh wow , there are so many disadvantages on the utilization of anabolic steroids as a sports supplement , are there any regulations prohibiting athletes to do so ? "

According to the 2010 Prohibited List of International Standard in the World Anti-Doping Code published by the World Anti-Doping Agency along with the International Olympic Committee , all types of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are prohibited to use for athletes. Violators may be prosecuted and being disqualified and even taking away all titles or trophies in his past career.

FIFA joins the World Anti-Doping Code

Despite the serious legal actions upon the athletes who took the anabolic androgenic steroids , some of them still continue to take their risks which affects their physical , psychological and even their career health. This is a quite interesting situation. Actually , for those professional players or athletes , they may just have a few chances to reach world class level matches such as the Olympics or the FIFA world cup finals etc , other factors such as age , fitness will all contribute to affect their performances on those world class games. As an athlete , this may be his only chance to achieve his greatest accomplishments ever in his sports career. Therefore , some athletes may choose to take the anabolic androgenic steroids to ensure they are at the very best physical states to provide optimum performances in order to win that title. Moreover , the fame , power and wealth that will bring to the athlete after winning the title is also a very high , this will definitely encourages the athletes to give a shot with anabolic androgenic steroids.

" Controversial aspects with Sportsmanship values ? "

According to the Olympism project , one of the key values in olympic sports is "Fair Play" , which includes respect , sportsmanship and cooperation. The abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids in athletes as a sports supplement violates everything regarding to " Fair Play" , and it is obvious in everyone's mind. The athletes who took the magic steroids should not accepted as a player , and their achievements and performances should also be neglected as they got it with hacks.

Conclusion

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) shows the ability of people to create artificial hormones that could give similar effects of the testosterone and other androgenic effects , but the point is how to use the steroids in a good way and not abusing it in other ways than medical purposes. In the modern sports society , I believe it is really difficult to resist the miracle steroids to boast the performances in various kinds of sports , but , I think as a professional athlete or as a normal adult , it is our responsibilities to make the correct decision to avoid AAS as a sports supplement. Besides , I believe without the help of AAS and getting a Gold olympic medal or lifting the World Cup would be more meaningful to the person himself , as he understands that these medals are representing their true power and values all the hard practising in order to receive the congratulations.