Question

One survey of professional athletes reported that about half would be willing to take a drug that ensured their success, even if it shortened their lives. Create a short essay looking at the positive and negative aspects of steroid use by athletes in competition.

Answer 1

Anabolic androgenic steroids are the drugs used by the athletes to gain competitive edge over their opponents by unfair means. The examples of steroids includes Testosterone, Androstenedione, danazol, etc. Testosterone circulate in the bodies stimulating development and maintenance of male sexual characteristics and expression of secondary characteristics, such as beard, moustaches, growth of facial body and facial hair, etc. It has also effects on bones and muscles. The illegal use of steroids enhanced the performance of an athletes by mimicking natural testosterone. It would lead to an increase in muscle size, strength and fat-free body mass. The use of this steroid also reduce muscle damage, helping athletes to recover faster.

The use of performance enhancing steroids can lead to both serious physical and mental side effects. The common physical side effects includes the following: Acne or pimples, premature hair loss in males, excessive growth of body and facial hair in female, deepened voice in males, etc. Steroids can also affect sexual development and performance by inducing irregular periods, prominent breasts, shrunken testicles, infertility, prostate gland enlargement, etc. The mental side effects includes overly aggressive or combative, a condition known as 'roid rage'. On the other hand, use of steroids is also linked with depression that might lead to commit suicide in extreme cases. Pronlonged use of steroids can be life threatening which may cause liver abnormalities and tumors, increased LDL and decreased HDL, hypertension, heart and blood circulation problems, cancer, etc.