Drugs and Young Athletes

A 2004 Newsweek article estimated that in the previous year, (2003), 300,000 teens between the 8th and 12th grades had tried steroids. That number is a dramatic increase from a decade before 2003. These estimated users included both 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.
 
Opponents of the use of performance-enhancing drugs at the professional level argue that their use by professionals inspires many young people to try them. They continue to argue that those whose bodies are still developing may be at even greater risk for more harmful health effects.


Steroids can interfere with the natural processes of puberty.
For boys, the sudden surge of testosterone can create male pattern baldness and violent mood swings. The Steroids may also cause the body to stop producing its natural testosterone. The body not producing its natural testosterone can limit bone growth and result in  males developing female characteristics such as breasts and a high voice. Also, some boys who have tried to quit steroids have developed severe depression and a few cases led to suicide.

Girls may become more masculine, lose body fat (including breasts) and develop facial hair and a deep voice as a result of using steroids.

In many cases parents, teachers, or coaches are oblivious to young people using steroids . This is often because steroid testing, at $50 to $100 a test, can be too expensive for schools. Some people feel that there should be more extensive testing and other programs to combat what they consider to be an epidemic of performance-enhancing drugs among youth.

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