Performance-Enhancing Drugs - Brooke Dutton

                           Performance-Enhancing Drugs:

Performance enhancing drugs or steroids, as most call them, are causing major controversy in athletes. Some say that these substances provide an advantage and that there is nothing wrong with it, while others say that these types of drugs are totally and completely unfair.

Most people think that they understand the meaning of a steroid, but according to Webster's Dictionary a steroid is a natural substance that is produced in the body. So everyone produces a steroid within their own body. Also according to Webster's Dictionary, an anabolic steroid is a drug that is sometimes illegally used by athletes to help them become stronger and more muscular. This is different than the kind that we produce. An anabolic steroid is also known as a performance enhancing drug. Athletes have been using them for centuries even though they are illegal. Some say that these drugs will make professional sports more interesting to watch but others argue that this is only making the game unfair to the non steroid users. Using these performance-enhancing drugs can also be dangerous to an athletes body. It can cause effects on many organ systems in the body including the male and female reproductive systems. It can also effect the cardiovascular system. Many people use these anabolic steroids without knowing or thinking about the health consequences. Even professional athletes don't think about the consequences of using these drugs.

Below is a photo of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Roger Clemens. It shows the before and after pictures of them while using performance-enhancing drugs.

All of these athletes were superstars, but is this because of the drugs they were using? Is using performance-enhancing drugs dangerous to an athletes health and body? Below is a video of "Artificial Athletes" and the dangers of steroids.

 

So, even though performance-enhancing drugs have their perks, they also have their downsides too as you could see in the video. Many athletes are using steroids to make their performance better. Some you may not even know about. Overall steroids have changed the way that people have played sports and also how others have viewed the sports being played. Steroids don't just stop at the college level, but they are also being used at the college level and even in high school sports.

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

 

Kuipers, Harm. "Anabolic Steroids: Side Effects." Encyclopedia of Sports and Medicine. n.d. Web.
                13 Nov. 2013.
"Steroids." Merrium-Webster Dictionary. n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Timely Television. "Artificial Athletes." You Tube. Web 13 Nov. 2013.