The use of anabolic steroids is a hot sports issue. It has implications for both professional players and for young athletes who feel that they won’t have a competitive edge without steroids or other performance enhancers.
Despite media warnings about the risks of anabolic steroids—which include fertility problems, potentially irreversible masculine traits in females and breast enlargement in males, toxic effects on the liver and cardiovascular system, arrested growth, and damaging psychiatric side effects—young athletes keep taking them. According to surveys, 6.1% of students nationwide had taken oral or injected steroids without a doctor’s prescription at least once. The motivation to use steroids often comes from peer pressure, and in some cases, an athlete's own internal desire to achieve athletic greatness. In addition, some teenagers simply want to look better.
To see ATSNJ resources on steroid use prevention and detection visit: http://atsnj.org/tags/steroids
