a Growing Epidemic; Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports

How would you feel if the only way your son or daughter would be able to make it onto any of their schools' athletic teams or as a professional athlete, would be to take performance enhancing drugs? This day and age, competition in sports is so cutthroat, that athletes are taking performance enhancing drugs in order to physically exceed beyond what naturally can be done. Some athletes have such a strong desire to gain a competitive edge that they are willing to win at any and at all costs. The most commonly known extreme an athlete will go to in professional sports, in the Olympic Games, and in high schools or colleges is by using performance enhancing drugs, which has become a growing epidemic.
Just about every athlete is searching for a quicker response time, outlasting endurance, being the fastest or the strongest and performance enhancing drugs are usually the best answer to them all. Performance enhancing drugs do provide the effects many athletes are looking to attain, such as; being able to train or perform harder with less recovery time, building large amounts of muscle mass in a short period of time, or being a part of an elite group that is considered to be the best of the best. PED'S can also give an athlete a true sense of security by knowing that they are able to perform at an optimum level. Having that sense of security gives an athlete a physically powerful mindset that could most likely lead them towards their goals of getting that scholarship or a professional contract. However, at what cost are they willing to achieve these results? Not only are performance enhancing drugs illegal, but they also have many physical and internal side effects that can be life threatening. Most athletes overlook the many side effects just to be able to perform at that elevated level that sets them aside from the rest.
There are so many forms of performance enhancing drugs out there that athletes use, all in the hopes of gaining that competitive edge to win. Studies from the Mayo Clinic (2004) show that in order to increase strength and mass in muscle, some athletes take man-made or synthetic anabolic steroids. The main hormone made naturally by our body is testosterone, which is also considered to be a natural anabolic steroid. Testosterone makes bodies respond in two ways: the anabolic portion promotes building of the muscles and the androgenic portion creates masculine characteristics, like face and chest hair growth or deepening of the voice. (Mayo Clinic, 2004)
The side effects of anabolic steroids are serious and can cause men to have a higher pitched voice, baldness, infertility, female like breasts, or a decrease in the testicles. Side effects for women are also serious and can cause; deepening of the voice, baldness, an increase in the clitoris, additional hair on the body, or a spark in appetite. For both men and women, some side effects may include; increased acne, forceful behavior such as rage or violence, dependency of the drug, tumors, or abnormalities of the liver and psychiatric conditions such as depression. (Mayo Clinic, 2004)
Another form of the many performance enhancing drugs used is androstenedione (andro). It is another natural hormone produced in our body by the adrenal glands, ovaries and testes. This hormone naturally changes to testosterone and estradiol in both men and women. The man-made or synthetic androstenedione are taken to increase the body's production of testosterone. This drug provides an elevated level of testosterone, which allows athletes to train harder and recover more quickly. (Mayo Clinic, 2004)
The side effects of androstenedione in men causes; increased acne, infertility, enlarged breasts, shrinking of the testicles, a decrease in testosterone levels along with an increased production of estrogen. Side effects in women include; acne and increased masculinity, such as balding or a deeper voice. (Mayo Clinic, 2004)
Unlike the first two performance enhancing drugs that I have mentioned, creatine is far less serious and has been known to provide steroid-like results without any major side effects. Again, it is a natural hormone produced in our bodies that releases energy to our muscles and can be found naturally in meats or fish, which are abundant in proteins. If taken as a supplement, then they have been man-made or are synthetic and can vary in the purity of the mixtures. (Mayo Clinic, 2004)
The side effects of creatine in supplemental form for both men and women include; allergic reactions, diarrhea, muscle cramps, stomach cramps, nausea, weight gain, and vomiting. If creatine is used in high doses, it can severely damage the heart, kidneys or liver. (Mayo Clinic, 2004)
Stimulants have also been used by athletes to enhance their performance during competition. Stimulants are drugs that are used to minimize one's appetite, cut down on fatigue, step-up alertness and promote aggressiveness. Some examples of stimulants are anphetamines, ephedrine, caffeine, Sudafed, street stimulant drugs like cocaine or methanphetamine. Stimulants may give you that extra boost to perform, but their effects are usually short term. When the effects of stimulants wear off, you are usually left feeling even more tired than when you took them. With all those studies, are the risks and side effects really worth it?
Imagine if every athlete were given the approval to use performance enhancing drugs, what would that do to our society and how we view competitive sports? Sure, we would have a great number of world records made or a great deal of wins, but what would that do to the athletes who are so desperate to be the best? I believe it would become a contagiously, vicious cycle that would inevitably get worse because everyone would be striving to top each other by taking more performance enhancing drugs or eventually become immune to them and need more and more to reach their desired effect.
Some suggest that coaches or trainers play a significant role in influencing the athletes through mentoring or good camaraderie in order to develop unrealistic goals for them. Extreme goals that model ideal skills or characteristics that athletes need for success only puts added pressure to take performance enhancing drugs. Some reasons why a coach or a trainer might push an athlete to take PED's would be to gain personal success for themselves or to acquire a reputation and recognition, which could enable them to be in demand and expand their clientele.
I believe that winning is all in the mind and there should never be a need for chemicals to enhance performance. How can anyone who won after using performance enhancing drugs, ethically feel that it was a great accomplishment when they know they were chemically altered to perform at a level that naturally cannot be achieved? I think that adding performance enhancing drugs changes the whole dynamics of sports in regards to world records that have been achieved naturally.