Anabolic steroids and their abuse in sports

By Clare E. Urwin

SURABAYA (JP): If you watch any of the Sydney Olympic Games in September, you will undoubtedly be thrilled and inspired by the skill, determination and sheer courage of the athletes. Rightfully so. The training and dedication needed to be the fastest, strongest and best is mind-boggling.

However, following recent worldwide publicity, a tiny nagging doubt may lodge itself in the minds of many spectators. Was the winner "using" something to enhance performance? Was he or she cheating by taking drugs? Last week, Wu Yanyan, the world champion in the women's 200-meter individual medley was dropped from China's Olympic swimming team after failing a dope test.

The rewards of top-level success for athletes and other sportsmen or women are now enormous, both in financial and personal glory terms. There is huge pressure on them to take every competitive advantage, physically, mentally and scientifically. It seems almost inevitable that some will seek victory via drugs.

Anabolic steroids are probably the best known and most widely detected drugs of "abuse" used to enhance performance. In the general population, most people will have at least heard of them. This group of substances exceed any other in causing the most controversy, argument, debate and drama in the world of competitive sports. Remember Ben Johnson?

During the forthcoming Sydney Games, it can be virtually guaranteed that there will be some scandal involving drug taking with the athletes.

Side effects

The usual preconception about anabolic steroid use is that it makes men look abnormally muscular while making women look unnaturally masculine and there are dire side effects. Is this conclusion correct? If so, why do so many athletes believe the rewards outweigh the penalties of anabolic steroid use?

Anabolic steroids describe a group of steroids that are synthetic derivatives of the hormone testosterone. This is the male sex hormone that helps the body build muscle and synthesize proteins. Natural testosterone is produced in large quantities in the male, but is also present in the female.

Anabolic steroids are legally prescribed by doctors for the treatment of some medical conditions and are widely utilized by the veterinary profession for use in animals. Abusers administer their doses orally or by injection, sometimes 10 times to 100 times higher than the amount taken by patients. These compounds can produce a significant increase in muscular dimensions, both in males and females.

The benefit of anabolic steroids on athletes is a gain in strength and muscle size, far beyond that which could be achieved by rigorous workouts and diet alone. They also affect mood and aggression, enabling the abuser to train harder and longer.

Originally, anabolic steroids were only taken by power sportsmen, such as weight lifters and body builders. Now they are reputably used by various types of athletes to improve their sports competitiveness in numerous ways.

Until 1935, no one knew that anabolic steroids were associated with increasing muscle tissue. Then, two researchers experimenting on dogs, discovered that testosterone given under certain conditions increased muscle mass. In the mid-1950's, the first synthetic anabolic steroid was developed to boost performance, and by the 1960's, their abuse was already a problem. Today, it is said that the only Olympic sports in which anabolic steroids have not been detected are figure skating and women's hockey.

Regrettably, earlier, the medical, governmental and scientific establishment was "economical with the truth" in presenting information about anabolic steroids to the general population. Consequently, much credibility was lost.

When anabolic steroids were first noticed as a growing problem, some public officials stated categorically that they didn't work. As well as repeated denials that they enhanced performance, it was stressed that frequent use would immediately result in dramatic toxic side effects. Naturally, the general population accepted this characterization of steroids as dangerous killer drugs.

However, these pronouncements were obviously untrue and known to be false in the sports community. Such statements went against the common knowledge and experience of the athletes, who did not see large numbers of their steroid-using friends dropping dead.

In fact, many users and their coaches felt that anabolic steroids were appropriate and even necessary for optimal performance. As the reputation of anabolic steroids grew, their abuse spread.

In 1975, the International Olympic Committee banned steroid use by all athletes in its member associations. Since then, most amateur and professional organizations have put the drugs on their list of banned substances.

Serious risks

Without any doubt, there are serious health risks involved with anabolic steroid abuse. Because they disrupt the normal production of hormones, irreversible changes to the body may occur. The adverse side effects can range from acne and breast development in men, deeper voices and excessive growth of body hair in women, to a threat of liver cancer or heart attacks.

The risks for teenagers and women are higher than for adult males. Efforts to provide equality for female athletes have resulted in greater competitiveness with higher financial rewards. Also, a lean, muscular, hard body is currently fashionable with models and actresses. Alarmingly, both of these factors are seen as seductive justifications for young women trying anabolic steroids.

Of particular concern is the stopping of long bone growth in adolescents of both sexes. Teenagers abusing anabolic steroids may indeed find their muscles bulking up, but their height could be permanently stunted.

However, it is important to recognize, (if not understand) the anabolic steroid user's perspective. Some believe that the rewards for excellence in sports, or in having a muscular body, far outweigh any penalties and risks. The physical effects which anabolic steroids can have are desired by athletes and others alike. It must also be added that despite over 40 years of use by athletes, many of whom are now well into middle age, we have yet to hear about an epidemic of steroid-related deaths.

Irrespective of whether previously our society could be assessed on the grounds of justifiable overreaction, misguided rationalization or appropriate concern, the current problem of drugs in sport will not go away. Detection has become increasingly difficult, yet drug taking can be controlled only if detection is likely and the penalties are a sufficient deterrent.

The vast majority of people believe that the use of anabolic steroids prevents fair competition. Furthermore, any success an athlete achieves while using steroids is tainted. It's called cheating and the ends never justify the means. Perhaps the issues presently confronting athletes are not that much different from those facing all of us today?

The writer is a nutritionist and health advisor, based in Surabaya. (clareu@attglobal.net)