The use of steroids among athletes has elicited debates among scholars, religious leaders and doctors on their effectiveness and health risks they pose to the users. Even though the debate continues, very many people, mostly the athletes, are still using it for a number of reasons related to their careers and body image. Taking into consideration all pro and con, I hold the opinion that steroid use is bad. This essay will focus on the effects of steroids on the individuals who use it despite the fact it is unhealthy.
Steroids are one of the drugs that have continuously been misused. Drug is any substance that is consumed with an aim to bring a stable body condition and to normalize its function (Lockwood, 2007). Thus, drug is meant to make the body function with a special medication which will increase the body reaction. However, the excessive use of drugs can lead to addiction and the body can no longer sustain it resulting to bodily harm. Drugs have been categorized into different categories depending on how they influence. They perform different functions depending on the needs of individuals who use them. It is believed that all drugs are harmful as they have different effects on our body. Drugs will become harmful only if they are not used properly for the intended purpose. This is how steroids have become dangerous to athletes and other users since they use it for the purpose which is not intended to perform. Therefore, steroid abuse brings harm to the users.
Despite the wide-ranging debates about steroids, their disadvantages outweigh their advantages with a number of reasons. First, steroids have been abused through excessive consumption. This has caused irritability and aggression in people. A striking example was the use of steroids by Hitler’s troops in order to build strength muscles and prevent fatigue. They found themselves fearless and were readily willing to fight. This is a bad side of taking steroids as it makes individuals be more aggressive, hence causing disturbance (Pearl, 2001). Similarly, it causes individuals to frequently attack others what increases the chances of warfare and minimizes peace initiation hence depicting a wrong image of society. This effect is not only wrong and unexpected to the user, but it also affects the passive users and innocent members of the society as a result of the indirect effect of actions of the users.
The second bad side of taking steroids is reducing of sperm production in men. It affects their reproduction function and causes irreversible breast enlargement. Among women, the use of steroids may result in deep voice and excessive body hair. It may lead to the ratio change of good and bad lipid and also increase the danger of heart attack, strokes or even liver cancer. The adolescents who use it may suffer from premature bone growth which may interfere with their development (Lockwood, 2007). Additionally, those who use contaminated needles for injecting drug risk catching diseases such as HIV and other blood borne diseases. The disadvantages of using steroids are, therefore, very many, even more than expected since it leads to permanent body conditions which may not be easily reversed.
However, the good side of using steroids can be related to improving performances of users as they get extra energy. Wrestlers find it needful because it buffs up their image as they get their adrenaline hence increasing their performances being aggressive towards their opponents. This has proved to be successful for them. Similarly, the athletes use it in increasing their endurance. It also increases the muscle strength and the number of muscle fiber. This works to their advantage and gives positive effects of steroids (Davies, 2004). However, it makes the users act under the influence hence their credibility in performance can not be estimated or predicted. It is difficult to estimate the strength of individuals who perform under steroids.
In conclusion, steroids are wrong as a result of the effects it has on the users. It is a drug which has a purpose and due to its abuse, it is detrimental to health. Many athletes use it to increase their performances by reducing fatigue and increasing their muscles. However, this has another effects related to aggressiveness, impotence in males, and changes of voice as well as excessive hair growth among females.