Bad Effects of Steroids

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Bad effects of steroids

Each day, professional and amateur athletes and body builders thrive to achieve their goals and dreams of winning gold medals or representing their country worldwide. The sports or games in which they participate require physical strength, athleticism and stamina, and due to the tough competition they face, some of these athletes decide to take performance enhancing drugs, an act called doping.

The most famous of these drugs are anabolic steroids, which are, as defined by the Controlled Substances Act issued by the Food and Drugs Administration under the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, any drug or hormonal substance chemically and pharmacologically related to testosterone that promotes muscle growth. Patient with medical prescriptions are allowed to take steroids to treat some diseases such as delayed puberty. However, the use of anabolic steroids should be stopped because it comes with high risk on the level of physical and mental health.

Many athletes take steroids in higher doses than medically recommended, which causes, as I mentioned before, serious physical side effects such as: prominent breasts, baldness, shrunken testicles, impotence for men and infrequent or absent period, baldness, deeper voice, enlarged clitoris for women, and both might experience high blood pressure, heart problems, acne and liver tumors. Also, teenagers face risks, as cited in an article by Marty Kaminsky, Dr. Gary Wadler, professor of Medicine, New York University, says: “For a teenager, steroid use hastens the closing of the long bones. The body thinks you have finished adolescence, so you may not reach your genetically predetermined height.” (Boy’s Life, June 2005).

In addition to that, mental hea...

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...erica’s Colleges and Universities. . Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.casacolumbia.org/newsroom/op-eds/wasting-best-and-brightest-alcohol-and-drug-abuse-college-campuses

Kaminsky, M. (2005, June 1). The dangers of steroids. . Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://boyslife.org/blgym/20007/the-dangers-of-steroids

Overweight and Obesity. (2014, March 28). . Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

Performance enhancing drugs: Know the risks. (2012, December 12). . Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/fitness/in-depth/performance-enhancing-drugs/art-20046134

The Controlled Substances Act http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/legislation/ucm148726.htm

Why and How Hair Loss Happens. (2014, March 25). . Retrieved May 25, 2014, from http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/hair_skin_nails/hair_loss

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