Anabolic Steroids:
A Perceived Means to Perfection

At what point does the quest for perfection become an obsession? In the world of athleticism, the point of mania is usually when a person turns to performance enhancement by means of ergogenic aids. An ergogenic aid is anything that enhances a person’s athletic abilities. Examples of ergogenic aids are vitamins, foods, caffeine, and the most controversial anabolic steroids. Anabolic Steroids have sparked worldwide interest in the media because of the potential dangers associated with usage and moreover the fact that steroids are illegal in the professional sports arena. Anabolic steroids are classified as ergogenic aids, because they are chemically made substances that promote increased stamina when training, resulting in greater amounts of fat free mass and overall strength. The use of anabolic steroids has evolved into further drug experimentation and dependence, destroying the most critical aspect and fundamental of training “quality vs. quantity,” thus creating a “by any means necessary” athletic society.
What Are the Affects of Steroid Use on Athletic Performance? Over the last five years several allegations and indictments have been made against athletes for their use of performance enhancing drugs. According to Steven M. Cohen, “Athletes use these drugs to enhance athletic performance, but not in the manner one might assume. Anabolic steroids won't make an athlete “better” at his or her sport. Steroids aren't a substitute for talent” (Cohen, 2009). So what do steroids do? First, steroids are a man made substance with traits common to testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone produced in the body and secreted from both male and female organs in varying amounts in accordance to gender. This hormone is responsible for several processes in the body, most notable however its role in protein synthesis and the anabolic effect it has on muscle mass and strength. In other words, a person with high levels of testosterone has the ability to build more lean mass, and as a result of more muscle or lean mass a person has the more strength they are apt to have. The human body produces amounts of this hormone according to what it perceives is necessary to maintain bodily function. Because of media related influences society has developed an affixation with perfection in regards to vanity, health, and physical performance; as mentioned, testosterone is major player in greatly contributes to those three obsessions. Along with personal desires to achieve optimal vanity, health and performance athletes in general feel both compelled and pressure from society to be the best and in all cases playing to win versus playing for the love of a sport. In an effort to meet the demands placed on an athlete by society and their personal desire to be the best, many athletes turn to anabolic steroids because of their ability to provide an enhanced “quick fix.” These drugs provide the athlete with higher (synthetic) levels of testosterone, making muscle development easier, vast increases in strength, and higher levels of assertiveness. However, there are two problems with their “quick fix”; one they are illegal and two they possess a plethora of dangerous side effects.
Medical Risks Uses of anabolic steroids are highly discouraged due to the medical risks they produce. Because, steroids are usually acquired without a competent medical authorities’ prescription through illegal distribution people using these drugs have little or no idea what they are putting into their body and what adverse reaction they could have to the drug. In addition the absence of proper medical prescribing and dosage amplifies the possibility of over dosage. These drugs can be ingested orally or injected into the blood stream. If the user is injecting with shared intravenous needles, consequently they put themselves at serious risk of contracting both HIV and Hepatitis B. In an ESPN report Dr. Gary Wadler, states that although steroids are made to mirror human testosterone, men can actually have adverse reactions causing feminization and decreased sexual function, and women can experience masculaniztion causing changes to facial structure and increased facial hair growth (Wadler, 2008). In addition to physical changes, individuals who engage in the regular use of steroids run the risk of blood clotting disorders, premature cardiovascular disease and aging of muscle cells, and elevated cholesterol. Lastly, as noted previously testosterone incites behavioral assertiveness, with increased levels of testosterone behavioral assertiveness transgresses into negative aggressiveness known as “roid rage.” Rather than motivate steroid users to discontinue steroid use, unfortunately the illegality and the medical risk associated with these drugs has only motivated athletes to experiment with other potentially dangerous ergogenic aids.
What is the difference in Human Growth Hormone and Anabolic Steroids? During World War II, “The Nazi horrors showed us the dangers of a political platform or public policy approach that uses science and technology to search for perceived biological "perfection" in ourselves, individually, and society as a whole” (Summerville, 2009). Although the use of anabolic steroids is a far cry from the Nazi practices to create the perfect person there is a distinct similarity to their behavior, and that is the extreme measure genetic research and means we have made to make a drug that will perfect us in our performance capability. In fact a recent use in Human Growth Hormone (HGH) has risen in an effort to avoid the risks and detection of illegal steroid use. HGH is a natural substance produced by the pituitary gland, which stimulates cell growth in the body, increases calcium retention, and decreases protein degradation; moreover HGH has become popular because it is believed to inhibit the aging process, help build muscle, and promote fat loss. The Somatropin website defines HGH as,” A protein produced in the pituitary gland that stimulates the liver to produce somatomedins, which stimulate growth of bone and muscle. HGH stays in the bloodstream for only a few minutes. However, this is long enough to stimulate its uptake by the liver, causing the production of Insulin-like growth factor-1. Human growth hormone is the most abundant hormone produced by the pituitary gland in the brain. It peaks during the rapid-growth phase of adolescence, then steadily declines with age” (Somatropin Human Growth Hormone, 2006). Unlike, steroids the side effects associated with HGH are hypoglycemia, abnormal bone growth (acromegelia), extended belly, carpal tunnel syndrome, and joint pain which are usually rare and are mostly associated with over dosage that like steroids is initiated by illegal distribution. HGH when used to aid human deficiency is a wonderful tool in the world of medicine, on the other hand the use of HGH to acquire physical benefits outside of normal human capabilities gives HGH a negative public outlook.
Summary
The research conducted on Anabolic Steroids revealed that is an Ergogenic Aid. Anabolic steroids are different from ergogenic aids because they are chemically made to give the body a synthetic form of testosterone to aid in performance capability; however they also have potential to cause human addiction, cardiovascular disease, and other severe physical and physiological ramifications. The use of steroids has increased in popularity because of the emphasis we as a society have placed on winning and physical perfection.

References

Cohen, S. M. (2009, Feb 10). Anabolic Steroids in Sports. Retrieved Aug 22, 2009, from Sports Injuries: http://sportsinjuries.suite101.com/article.cfm/anabolic_steroids_in_sports
Fahey, T. D. (2007). Basic Strength Training For Men and Women 6th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Somatropin Human Growth Hormone. (2006). Retrieved August 22, 2009, from Somatropin: http://www.somatropin.net/
Summerville, M. (2009, August 11). The flawed Quest for Perfection. Retrieved August 22, 2009, from Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=1868848&sponsor=
Wadler, G. D. (2008, September 6). Sports and Drugs. Retrieved August 22, 2009, from ESPN.COM: http://espn.go.com/special/s/drugsandsports/steroids.html
Wilmore, J. H., Costill, D. L., & Kenney, W. L. (2008). Physiology of Sport and Exercise. Champaign: Human Kinetics.