The Effects of Performance Enhancing Drugs on Athletes
The Effects of Performance Enhancing Drugs on Athletes
The risks of taking performance -enhancing drugs to improve an athletes’ performance outweighs the benefits. Along with the fact that all performance-enhancing drugs are illegal to use in sports, there are also serious side effects and addiction risks to the drugs. Athletes may choose from a variety of drugs and each may achieve different benefits. However, most of the time, athletes are uneducated in their decision to take the drugs, which can cause short term and long-term problems. Athletes may choose from many different types of performance enhancing drugs. Anabolic steroids are the most common performance-enhancing drug used by athletes. Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male hormone testosterone (Drug Enforcement Administration). Athletes use steroids to increase strength and promote tissue growth which increases muscle mass (Hoffman). The biggest benefit from using anabolic steroids is that they allow the athlete to train harder and have a quicker recovery (Hoffman). Designer steroids are another form of steroids that has been created specifically for athletes to be undetectable in drug testing. These steroids have not been approved or even tested by the Food and Drug Administration so the risks are unknown (Mayo Clinic Staff). Diuretics and stimulants are two more classes of drugs that athletes may use to enhance performance. Diuretics are used to help rid the body of salt and water (Monroe 5). Athletes take diuretics to decrease their weight and enable them to compete in specific events or to dilute their urine in order to pass a drug test (Mayo Clinic Staff). Stimulants are sometimes used to stimulate the central nervous system, which can help an athlete improve their endurance, reduce fatigue, and suppress their appetite (Mayo Clinic Staff). Athletes take stimulants because they can get a quick boost to improve their physical performance.
The risks of taking performance -enhancing drugs to improve an athletes’ performance outweighs the benefits. Along with the fact that all performance-enhancing drugs are illegal to use in sports, there are also serious side effects and addiction risks to the drugs. Athletes may choose from a variety of drugs and each may achieve different benefits. However, most of the time, athletes are uneducated in their decision to take the drugs, which can cause short term and long-term problems. Athletes may choose from many different types of performance enhancing drugs. Anabolic steroids are the most common performance-enhancing drug used by athletes. Anabolic steroids are synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male hormone testosterone (Drug Enforcement Administration). Athletes use steroids to increase strength and promote tissue growth which increases muscle mass (Hoffman). The biggest benefit from using anabolic steroids is that they allow the athlete to train harder and have a quicker recovery (Hoffman). Designer steroids are another form of steroids that has been created specifically for athletes to be undetectable in drug testing. These steroids have not been approved or even tested by the Food and Drug Administration so the risks are unknown (Mayo Clinic Staff). Diuretics and stimulants are two more classes of drugs that athletes may use to enhance performance. Diuretics are used to help rid the body of salt and water (Monroe 5). Athletes take diuretics to decrease their weight and enable them to compete in specific events or to dilute their urine in order to pass a drug test (Mayo Clinic Staff). Stimulants are sometimes used to stimulate the central nervous system, which can help an athlete improve their endurance, reduce fatigue, and suppress their appetite (Mayo Clinic Staff). Athletes take stimulants because they can get a quick boost to improve their physical performance.