| What happens when high school kids tend to go | | | | adolescent users are either unaware or |
| the Arnold way... | | | | unconvinced of negative effects of steroids, |
| | | | physical and psychological effects. |
| The anabolic-androgenic steroids have been | | | | |
| used since the early 1950s for medicinal | | | | The growing evidence of habituation among |
| purposes and to enhance athletic performance. | | | | adolescent steroid users, and the powerfully |
| The incidence of non-medicinal use has been | | | | reinforcing properties of the drugs, presents |
| found to be increased considerably in recent | | | | a very disturbing trend in our young society. |
| years. This is followed by a strikingly | | | | Such alarming teenage steroid use forces us |
| increased frequency of their use among | | | | to stop and think about our own kids. Why do |
| adolescents & high school student groups | | | | so many young people continue to use them? |
| in particular. | | | | There can be many answers: |
| | | | |
| A 2001 CDC survey indicated that 5% of all | | | | - One answer is social pressures. Many |
| high school students reported lifetime use of | | | | young men, for various reasons, start feeling |
| steroid without a doctor's prescription. The | | | | that they need to look "masculine," that is, |
| survey also indicated that 5.8% of ninth | | | | strong and muscular and they fall easily for |
| graders, 4.9% of tenth graders, 4.3% of | | | | these so called "body-toners". |
| eleventh graders, and 4.3% of twelfth graders | | | | |
| reported lifetime illegal use of steroids. It | | | | - There is more pressure to win and |
| has been estimated that at least 700,000 high | | | | perform in sports today than ever before in |
| school students use anabolic steroids and | | | | history. Some student athletes feel so |
| that at least two third of them begin use by | | | | pressured to succeed in their respective |
| 16 years of age. | | | | sports that they resort to steroids for help. |
| | | | |
| Many users also engage in a practice known as | | | | - Easy accessibility is also a major |
| "stacking"; that is, using several steroids | | | | reason for the use of steroids and other |
| at once. There have been reports of addictive | | | | performance-enhancing drugs among youth |
| behavior and habituation among both adult and | | | | today. Just a click over Google will display |
| adolescent steroid users, as well as reports | | | | thousands of vendors selling "booster" doses |
| of affective and psychotic symptoms, often | | | | and thus procuring such steroids is never a |
| characterized by impulsive, aggressive and | | | | major hassle! |
| violent behavior. | | | | |
| | | | Need for Steroid Testing: |
| Adolescent steroid users appear to be at | | | | |
| special risk for many of the adverse | | | | In such a situation, the need for steroid |
| psychological and physical consequences of | | | | testing at various levels arise manifolds for |
| steroid use and most of them strongly believe | | | | many reasons. You wouldn't want yourself or |
| that steroids produce the physical effects | | | | your kids to fall prey to enormous side |
| they desire, and have no plans to stop using | | | | effects of such potentially devastating |
| steroids. It has also been reported that many | | | | drugs. |