| What happens when high school kids tend to go | | | | many adolescent users are either unaware or |
| the Arnold way… | | | | unconvinced of negative effects of steroids, |
| The anabolic-androgenic steroids have been used | | | | physical and psychological effects. |
| since the early 1950s for medicinal purposes and | | | | The growing evidence of habituation among |
| to enhance athletic performance. The incidence of | | | | adolescent steroid users, and the powerfully |
| non-medicinal use has been found to be increased | | | | reinforcing properties of the drugs, presents a |
| considerably in recent years. This is followed by a | | | | very disturbing trend in our young society. Such |
| strikingly increased frequency of their use among | | | | alarming teenage steroid use forces us to stop |
| adolescents & high school student groups in | | | | and think about our own kids. Why do so many |
| particular. | | | | young people continue to use them? There can |
| A 2001 CDC survey indicated that 5% of all high | | | | be many answers: |
| school students reported lifetime use of steroid | | | | • One answer is social pressures. Many young |
| without a doctor’s prescription. The survey | | | | men, for various reasons, start feeling that they |
| also indicated that 5.8% of ninth graders, 4.9% of | | | | need to look "masculine," that is, strong and |
| tenth graders, 4.3% of eleventh graders, and | | | | muscular and they fall easily for these so called |
| 4.3% of twelfth graders reported lifetime illegal | | | | “body-toners”. |
| use of steroids. It has been estimated that at | | | | • There is more pressure to win and perform |
| least 700,000 high school students use anabolic | | | | in sports today than ever before in history. Some |
| steroids and that at least two third of them begin | | | | student athletes feel so pressured to succeed in |
| use by 16 years of age. | | | | their respective sports that they resort to |
| Many users also engage in a practice known as | | | | steroids for help. |
| "stacking"; that is, using several steroids at once. | | | | • Easy accessibility is also a major reason for |
| There have been reports of addictive behavior | | | | the use of steroids and other |
| and habituation among both adult and adolescent | | | | performance-enhancing drugs among youth today. |
| steroid users, as well as reports of affective and | | | | Just a click over Google will display thousands of |
| psychotic symptoms, often characterized by | | | | vendors selling “booster” doses and thus |
| impulsive, aggressive and violent behavior. | | | | procuring such steroids is never a major hassle! |
| Adolescent steroid users appear to be at special | | | | Need for Steroid Testing: |
| risk for many of the adverse psychological and | | | | In such a situation, the need for steroid testing at |
| physical consequences of steroid use and most of | | | | various levels arise manifolds for many reasons. |
| them strongly believe that steroids produce the | | | | You wouldn’t want yourself or your kids to |
| physical effects they desire, and have no plans to | | | | fall prey to enormous side effects of such |
| stop using steroids. It has also been reported that | | | | potentially devastating drugs. |