Other Side Of The Coin… Drugs and Young Athletes

Opponents of performance-enhancing drugs at the professional level argue that their use inspires many young people to try them—and that those whose bodies are still developing may be at even greater risk for harmful health effects. A 2004 Newsweek article included an estimate that in the previous year 300,000 teens between the eighth and twelfth grades had tried steroids, a dramatic increase from a decade before. Users included boys and girls hoping to improve their performance in sports such as football or track and field, or simply to become more muscular and improve their appearance.

But steroids can interfere with the natural processes of puberty. For boys, the sudden surge of testosterone steroids creates can create male pattern baldness and violent mood swings. Steroids may cause the body to stop producing its natural testosterone. This may inhibit bone growth and make males develop female characteristics such as breasts and a high voice. Some who have tried to quit steroids have developed severe depression that in a few cases led to suicide. Girls may become more masculine, lose body fat (including breasts) and develop facial hair and a deep voice.

In many cases young people using steroids draw little suspicion from parents, teachers, or coaches. Steroid testing, at $dollar;50 to $dollar;100 a test, can be too expensive for schools. But some people argue that more extensive testing and other programs are necessary to combat what they consider to be an epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs among youth. "Clearly, burying our heads in the sand simply isn‘t working," argues Rob Dawson, a sports clinic doctor who speaks to schools and students about the dangers of drug use. "It‘s time we re-evaluated our stance on drugs in sports in general."

Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2013 Gale, Cengage Learning.

Source Citation

"    Drugs and Athletes." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.

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    Compilation by: Julian Mora