Steroids... Worth The Risk

SteroidsÐ'... Worth the Risk?

In today's society there are many pressures to be the best athlete and to look a certain way. Nobody wants to take second place, or look scrawny and wimpy. People want to be the winner and want others to turn their heads to look at them when they walk into a room. The fastest and easiest way to do that is to take steroids. People take steroids to be bigger and better at sports and also improve physical appearance. They take these supplement enhancers to get an edge on their opponent. I believe that taking steroids is worth all the risks that they inquire.

The Websters dictionary defines steroids as "any numerous compound containing a 17 carbon, 4 ring system and glycosides." Basically, they are man made substances related to the male sex hormones. They increase the amount of certain hormones in the body. This causes your muscles to work for longer periods of time without fatiguing allowing them to gain in size, strength, and endurance.

Do people take steroids because they are not aware of all the risks? Not likely, steroids have been around since the 1930's when Nazi scientists tried to invent drugs that would make German armies more powerful (Banks, Substance Abuse in Sport: The Realities, pg. 13-21). Though steroids were considered harmful and made illegal in 1991 (Berlow, Sports Ethics). Some side affects of steroids are baldness, high blood pressure, lowered sex drive, acne, nosebleeds, liver disease, kidney disease, and many more (Williams, Drugs and Athletic Performance, pg. 88-90). It may sound ridiculous, to those people who use steroids, with all the risks involved, but the temptation and pressures in using them are a lot of times intolerable.

In today's athletics, athletes are getting bigger, stronger, and faster. Whether an athlete plays high school or professional sports, it is getting harder for athletes to compete at a high level with all the competition. When an athlete is not good enough to make the team or is on a team and does not play much the athlete will do just about anything to improve themselves. Many athletes spend numerous hours practicing and lifting weights trying to get better at their sport, and still they lack what it takes to make the team or be the best. Steroids are the solution to their problems and a way to make their dreams come true. If you were offered the opportunity to lose body fat, get stronger, add more muscle within six weeks and have more motivation to work out more consistently, would you try it? Sure it is illegal and it is unfair for all the other athletes who do it the hard way, but most do not care. Many young men are taking steroids at a young age.Also, a report from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research shows an increase of 2.4 to 3.1 for boys in twelfth grade between 2001 to2004 (Banks, Substance Abuse in Sport: The Realities, pg. 25-27).

In recent years sports have become a huge industry. Just a few years ago Lebron James signed an 80 million dollar contract with Nike. This is the biggest contract in sports history. A gold medal in the Olympics can mean millions of dollars to athletes, coaches, managers, sponsors, and even countries. It is no wonder more and more people are striving to be the best, and will do whatever it takes to get there. When it comes to making money and a lot of it people will do just about anything.

Steroids are enormously popular not only on the sports track, but also in the world of workout gyms and fitness buffs. Most people would like to be fit and in shape, but it takes a lot of work. People spend many hours in a gym, and sometimes no matter how long or hard they work out they do not see any results. This can be frustrating when people are trying to put on muscle. By using steroids, someone can put on a lot of mass, and have more definition in a short amount of time. A person who is working out long hours and is not seeing much change Might decide to take steroids, because they are frustrated by not seeing any results. When that person starts taking steroids, they will start having more sex appeal towards the opposite sex, and start becoming more popular. When they look in the mirror with shock and see themselves as a person they always wanted to look like. Would not you continue taking steroids even with the health risks involved? Most would say no, but for the people who take steroids, it is a dream come true.

These days it is almost impossible to turn on a television or look through a magazine without seeing people who are fit and in shape. It seems that no matter what people watch or read, they see these types of people. The advertisements try to make people think that they need a certain product or look a certain way to fit in. The media continually bombards us with the message to be sexy, one must have a fit, muscular body. Many men take this message to heart and do whatever is necessary to achieve a similar look. There are articles in body building magazines with articles saying put on twenty even thirty pounds in twelve weeks or less by taking certain steroid products. It is no wonder so many young men are turning to steroids to have that body they always wanted.

Sometimes people take steroids to look bigger for their physical safety. Nobody likes to be called names for being weak or small. Someone who is smaller than everyone else, and gets picked on, might turn to steroids to look bigger. In a gang situation, a kid might feel steroids will get him big so the gang will leave him alone. Not only do they look bigger when they take steroids, but they also have a high self-esteem and think they can do anything. Rustein, a personal trainer says, "I thought I looked wonderful and at the time, I thought I was invincible. He continues to say, you're on top of the world; you think you're Superman or something" (Farmer, Maxim For Men, pg 98). Taking steroids may not be the best choice, but it is probably safer than the other option of safety.

The idea of steroids making you big and strong is being learned from a young age. In the October 2003 issue of "People", an article stated that the ants, from the Disney film A Bug's Life, better by taking steroids ("People" Magazine). This was referring to how big and