The perfect body, this is what the world strives for. Billboards, magazine covers, all indulge us in the illusion that everyone is perfect…except for “us” of course. What better way to get a quick fix that to take a pill or shoot up some steroids? Got an injury? Steroids will fix it. Need to bulk up before the big game? Guess what? Steroids will be there for you. The controversy involving these supplements has been that talk of physicians, athletic coaches, body builders, and parents. Effects resulting from the abuse of steroids can be brutal and not much is being done to stop it.

Androgenic anabolic steroids were first created in the late 1930’s by the Germans, and were tested on dogs and later on soldiers. The Germans used them to keep prisoners alive who were dying due to malnutrition and to make their soldiers more aggressive during battle. After the war, doctors in Europe and the U.S. used steroids to treat anemia, malnutrition, and to help patients recover faster from surgery. Two decades later, Dr. Zeigler found that testosterone was the key ingredient in these steroids and soon they were out on the market and readily available. In the well-documented case of the 1976 Olympics, the East German women’s swim team set records and swept the competition. It was later discovered that the team’s doctor and the head of the East German sports federation had given them anabolic steroids which lead to their many unfair victories. Steroids are commonly used in medical practice, curing such things as allergic reaction and arthritis, but also more serous illnesses like some types of cancer. Steroids are also obvious quick fixes for hormone deficiencies or abnormal production, and to imitate stimulation of muscle building androgens (Dempsey 443). They are most often used to replace testosterone in ill-functioning or non-existent testes. The controversial uses today are