Steroids and Teens - A Problem on the Rise
The media attention that steroids have received
in recent months is good newsand bad news for
Minnesota parents. The good news is that the general
publicis much more aware of the dangers steroids
pose to our youth. The bad news isthat the revelation
of steroid use in professional sports creates
an impliedlegitimacy in the eyes of many young
athletes.
Think about it: your teenager looks
at these professional athletes and seesa celebrity,
who seems to be in great physical shape, is performing
superblyat his or her sport, and is making millions
of dollars. Ironically, media storiesabout steroids
may paint an appealing picture of the drug for
aspiring youngathletes-our sons and daughters.
Risks of abuseSteroids are hormones that the
body uses to cause physiological activity, suchas
growth or metabolism. Performance-enhancing steroids,
sometimes referredto as anabolic or androgenic
steroids, are synthetic versions of the male hormonetestosterone.
Synthetic derivatives of natural steroids have
many valid medicalapplications, such as treating
asthma, skin disorders, impotence, osteoporosis,breast
cancer, and inflammation.
When taken under a doctor's
supervisionand in prescribed doses, steroids are
not typically harmful. However, individualsusing
steroids for their performance- enhancing qualities
are taking doses 10to 100 times higher than would
ever be prescribed.It is through sustained use
at these high doses that long-term health consequencescan
occur. Some of the long-term health risks are
heart disease, high bloodpressure, liver or kidney
tumors and even cancer, adverse psychiatric effects,and
infection (HIV or hepatitis) from sharing needles.
Putting it in perspectiveSteroid use by high
school students has been on the rise since the
early 1990s.The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance,
conducted by the Centers for Disease Controland
Prevention (CDC) in 2003, found that 6.1 percent
of high school students(grades 9-12) nationwide
had used steroids without a prescription oneor
more times in their lifetime.
With 17.1 million
students enrolled in highschool, that is over
1 million kids in the U.S. experimenting with
steroids.When we think of steroids and high school
students, we probably think of footballplayers
and wrestlers. What the CDC study shows is that
the highest groups forsteroid use are Hispanic
males, at 7.8 percent, and ninth-grade females,
at7.3 percent. Bodybuilding athletes may be the
obvious users, but more adolescentsare turning
to steroids as a means of dealing with their own
body image issues.
Comparing steroid use with other
teenage risk behaviors, the CDC survey foundthat:
Motor vehicle crashes remain the No. 1 cause of
death among adolescents. 74.9 percent of high
school students had had at least one alcoholic
drinkduring their lifetime, and 28.3 percent showed
episodic heavy drinking. 58.4 percent of high
school students had ever tried cigarette smoking,
and3.1 percent smoked more than ten cigarettes
a day. 34.3 percent of high school students had
had sexual intercourse during thethree months
preceding the survey, and 4.2 percent had ever
been pregnant orgotten someone pregnant.
8.5 percent
of high school students had attempted suicide
at least oncein the 12 months preceding the survey,
and 6.1 percent of high school studentshad carried
a gun on at least one of the 30 days preceding
the survey.Legal aspectsMuch like the current
visibility provided by the media attention to
steroidsin baseball, the attention on steroids
was highlighted by the stripping of BenJohnson's
Olympic gold medal during the 1988 Olympic Games.
This was onecontributing factor to heightened
interest by Congress and the subsequent passageof
the Anti- Drug Abuse Act of 1988, which categorized
the sale or possessionof anabolic steroids as
a felony. The publisher's sale of this reprintdoes
not constitute or imply any endorsement or sponsorship
of any project,service, company or organization.Following
the BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative) investigation,
whichinvolved a controversial sports nutrition
center in Burlingame, Calif., thatallegedly provided
anabolic steroids and other banned performance-enhancingdrugs
to athletes, Congress once again turned its attention
to steroids.
TheAnabolic Steroid Control Act of
2004 increased the list of banned substancesand
included steroid "precursors." Precursors are
not steroids outsideof the body; however, they
can be metabolized into steroids once they are
introducedinto the body.Warning signsSo, how do
you tell if your teenager is using steroids? While
there are a numberof signs to watch for, parents
sometimes overlook the most obvious one: rapidmuscle
growth.
It is not uncommon for a user to gain 20 to 30
pounds of leanmuscle mass in one month's time
while abusing steroids. Other visiblesigns of
steroid abuse are acne, which can become severe
and show up in unlikelyareas such as the back
or chest; jaundice; and hair loss. In addition,
femalesmay experience deepening of the voice,
growth of facial and body hair, and reductionin
breast size, while breast growth (gynecomastia)
occurs in males.
Changes in behavior also can be
an indicator of steroid use. Your child mayexhibit
a new-found fixation with working out and with
body image. Side affectsinclude increased aggressiveness
and sexual desire from higher testosteronelevels,
as well as euphoria, confusion, sleeping disorders,
pathological anxiety,paranoia, and hallucinations.
Users who become dependent on the drug may experiencesymptoms
of withdrawal after cessation that include aggressive
and violent behavior,mental depression with suicidal
behavior, mood changes, and, in some cases,acute
psychosis.Talk to your childIf you are not sure
that your child is using steroids and you just
want to talkto him or her about the drug, remember
to keep it simple.
Discussing the long-termhealth risks, such as
cancer and heart disease, will mean little to
teenagers,who can't imagine becoming older than
30. Teenagers live in the here andnow, so the
aspects of steroid use that will get their attention
are the superficialeffects. Even with a great
physique, it's tough to look attractive whenyou
are a female growing facial hair or have severe
acne.When talking to your child about steroids,
be prepared to discuss other mattersthat might
cause a child to be tempted to take the drug.
Be ready to discussthe pressures your child may
be dealing with in competitive sports or in self-esteemand
body image issues.
It is important to stress,
in words and in your own behavior,positive alternatives
that encourage a healthy lifestyle.InterventionIntervention
can help to prevent abuse and to end abuse once
it has become aproblem. There are two basic types
of intervention: active intervention, whichdeals
with individuals who have a substance abuse problem;
and proactive intervention,which prevents abuse.The
only science-based education programs that have
been proven to preventsteroid use are ATLAS (Athletes
Training & Learning to Avoid Steroids) andATHENA
(Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise & Nutrition
Alternatives).
ATLASis targeted at preventing steroid use by
male high school athletes; ATHENA detersbody-shaping
drug use and disordered eating among adolescent
females. Both programsuse good nutritional behaviors
and proper exercise technique as alternativesto
these risky behaviors. ATLAS has been recognized
by SAMHSA (Substance Abuseand Mental Health Services
Administration) as a "model program"and by the
U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free
Schools asan "exemplary program." In addition,
both ATLAS and ATHENA are theonly preferred programs
mentioned in the Anabolic Steroid Control Act
of 2004.According to Oregon Health and Science
University's Linn Goldberg, M.D.,principal investigator
of ATLAS, "Young developing bodies are likely
moresensitive to the adverse health effects of
steroids, some of which can be irreversible,such
as the stunting of height in males and voice and
body-facial hair changesin females.
"As parents,
encourage your child's school to investigate these
programs.If your child is already using steroids,
an active intervention is designedto motivate
an individual to accept help. If unable to act
upon an active intervention,professionals are
available to assist you.The most important aspect
of intervention is the recurring theme, "Wesee
you are struggling, we love you, we are concerned
for you, and help is availabletoday." When parents
discover that their children are using steroids,they
have two options: do nothing or get involved.
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