Adolescents and the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Athletics
Adolescents and the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Athletics
Much of the evidence on the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports comes from professional athletics. However, evidence also indicates that adolescents use performance-enhancing drugs, but that their use is not limited to those participating in athletics. The use of performance enhancing drugs also called “doping” can be tempting for teen athletes. Many young people often feel pressured by their peers or by their own ambitions to use these drugs to improve their competitive performance, lose weight, or improve their own body image. Girls often take performance enhancing drugs for weight loss, while boys are looking to “bulk up” gain muscle mass and strength. Several adolescents in middle and high school feel that by “doping” they will improve their chances of winning at their sport or being recruited, which can lead to other rewards. This trend is significant to American teens because the teens that result to the use of performance enhancing drugs are common issues that all adolescents can relate to. Researching this study can help deepen my understanding of why teens use performance enhancing drugs, what factors cause the desire, and what can we do to stop them early on in life.
For thousands of years, humans have sought the use of medicines, herbs, and other chemicals to improve their lives in various ways. Recorded history provides us with proof that competitive athletes have used various mixtures of animal and plant origins, of products both known and unknown, seeking to improve their athletic performance and gain the perceived benefits of victory. For example, athletes used wines, mushrooms, and opioids during the Greek and Roman Games; at the turn of the twentieth century stimulants became popular (Greydanus 729-750). Several teens see the effect performance enhancing drugs have on famous athletes and try to emulate them and achieve the same results. Therefore it is no surprise
Much of the evidence on the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports comes from professional athletics. However, evidence also indicates that adolescents use performance-enhancing drugs, but that their use is not limited to those participating in athletics. The use of performance enhancing drugs also called “doping” can be tempting for teen athletes. Many young people often feel pressured by their peers or by their own ambitions to use these drugs to improve their competitive performance, lose weight, or improve their own body image. Girls often take performance enhancing drugs for weight loss, while boys are looking to “bulk up” gain muscle mass and strength. Several adolescents in middle and high school feel that by “doping” they will improve their chances of winning at their sport or being recruited, which can lead to other rewards. This trend is significant to American teens because the teens that result to the use of performance enhancing drugs are common issues that all adolescents can relate to. Researching this study can help deepen my understanding of why teens use performance enhancing drugs, what factors cause the desire, and what can we do to stop them early on in life.
For thousands of years, humans have sought the use of medicines, herbs, and other chemicals to improve their lives in various ways. Recorded history provides us with proof that competitive athletes have used various mixtures of animal and plant origins, of products both known and unknown, seeking to improve their athletic performance and gain the perceived benefits of victory. For example, athletes used wines, mushrooms, and opioids during the Greek and Roman Games; at the turn of the twentieth century stimulants became popular (Greydanus 729-750). Several teens see the effect performance enhancing drugs have on famous athletes and try to emulate them and achieve the same results. Therefore it is no surprise