THE EFFECTS OF STEROIDS ON STUDENTS THAT PLAY SPORTS AT HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL 1. RESEARCH PROPOSAL RESEARCH QUESTION What health effects do steroids have on high school students that play sports? HYPOTHESIS Students that use steroids for high school sports have an improved performance but experience negative health effects on their bodies. 2. MOTIVATION OF RESEARCH This area of research affects all students that partake in sporting activities in high school. Sports competitions are increasingly becoming an important part of a student’s high school profile as students that do well are given preference when it comes to scholarships, university acceptance and job applications. This has led to many students relying on steroids to boost their …show more content…
Examples of health issues are increased cholesterol, high blood pressure, heightened sex characteristics (such as increased facial and body hair & deeper voice in women; baldness and impotence in men), liver damage and so many more. The effects of anabolic steroids can destroy the body and affect the mind by causing harm to it. Anabolic steroids are also known for affecting one’s behaviour as they often make individuals more violent as they are easily annoyed. This behaviour could lead to criminal acts such as fighting, burglary, and vandalism (Abuse, N. I. (2006). Anabolic Steroid Abuse. Washington DC: US Department on Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health). In addition to the information mentioned above, some of the detrimental effects steroids have on the body are long-lasting and sometimes irreversible side effects. Certain effects that anabolic steroids have been linked to include; problems with the musculoskeletal system, urinary & bowel problems, stroke and shrinking of the testicles. “Since steroids are a hormone, much like testosterone, the effects on sex characteristics can be far reaching, causing a kind of hyper-masculinity in young men. The excess of testosterone can …show more content…
This happens because the sudden elimination or decrease of a hormone in the body can lead to very serious health effects that can result to injury or even death. That is why discontinuation of anabolic steroids too quickly is an improper way to evade the effects of steroids as the withdrawal process comes with side effects of its own. These withdrawal symptoms are the long term effects that the athlete (steroid taking individual) will have to live with in the long run. Examples of some of these include apathy and depression, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, a decreased sex drive, joint and muscle pain &