Men's Health > Steroids > Steroid bodybuilders

Steroid Bodybuilding

"Steroid's are dangerous!"

These are not the words of a drug educator, a coach or someone looking out for your child's best interest. They are the words of a drug dealer.

This though isn't your run of the mill standing in the alleyway shadows kind of dealer.

This dealer operates a steroid bodybuild Web site, selling steroids online. With just a few clicks of the mouse, someone can buy a variety of steroids - even if they are not yet 18.

Steroid use among young athletes

While BALCO, Barry and Jason are stealing the headlines, the real fallout of the country's steroid crisis may be among the nation's youth. The numbers of children using steroids is on the rise and the perceived risk is on the decline. Web sites have made them readily available, scandals in professional and Olympic sports have given them unintended advertising and a lack of testing in schools have made steroid use hard to prevent.

"It's a major issue," said Dr. Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Blood Doping Agency. "Ultimately, the reason we should all be concerned about what is happening in elite sport is because it filters down to kids. People tend to focus on elite athletes, but they should not take their eye off the ball on the larger issue." Most of the evidence of steroid use by children is anecdotal, but several surveys done in the last few years have shown a rise in use.

The "Monitoring the Future" survey done at the University of Michigan shows that use among 12th graders has risen from 2.1 percent in 1991 to 3.5 percent last year. Among eighth graders, the numbers went from 1.9 to 2.5 and among 10th graders the percentage jumped to 3.0 from 1.8. The Center for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Survey found 6.1 percent of teenagers surveyed have tried steroids as compared to 2.7 percent in 1991.

why kids use steroids

There are a variety of reasons that kids start using steroids - from simply improving appearance to chasing a college scholarship. The combination of the invincibility of youth and the desire to achieve is a toxic one that often leads to troubling results. "I think it's become more of an issue over the past few years," said Scott Stephen, who grew up in Glen Rock, N.J. and just completed a college football career at Franklin & Marshall College. "With high school kids now and scholarships being so important, kids will do anything to get an edge. They'll do anything to get noticed and get that scholarship." Some high school athletes may not even be eyeing a scholarship. They may use steroids just to get in the starting lineup or in hopes of getting the team a few more victories. "The problem is that you have 15-to-18-year-old kids who are almost willing to sell their souls to the devil for success," Bergen Catholic (N.J.) football coach Fred Stengel said. "That taste of success is strong and they have a feeling of immortality."

Kids often see results immediately, too. Steroids not only help users gain weight but they also decrease recovery time between workouts. Soon, though, they may also see side effects such as: acne, early onset of male-pattern baldness, a shrinking of the testicles or growth of breasts. Long-term effects are harder to determine. Steven Ungerleider, who wrote "Faust's Gold" about the East German steroid program, thinks people should look at the East German women to see what can happen.

Steroids have become increasingly easier to get. Athletes and coaches interviewed said steroids can be found at many gyms in New York and New Jersey. One deterrent is the expense. Many of the coaches in the city said it is not a problem at their schools because most of the kids can't afford them. In the more affluent areas, though, kids are seeking out and finding the drugs. "Everybody is into personal trainers, that's what scares me," said Rich Reichert, the football coach at St. Anthony's in Huntington, L.I. "I don't like kids going to the gym, because you have no control over them there and that's where they find a lot of this stuff. But if their mom and dad say it's OK, there's nothing we can do."

Kids do not even have to leave the house anymore to get steroids if they have a home computer. Type the right words into an Internet search engine and you are a few mouse clicks away from buying mexican steroids or the illegal steroid drug of your choice. The Web sites not only sell steroids but instruct viewers how to use steroids and how to avoid detection. Many of the sites offer ways to pay other than credit cards, making it easier for kids. "We don't check [the] buyer's age," one on-line steroid dealer responded to questions in an e-mail. "But we don't suggest to use steroids before you are 20 years old or before your body is not fully developed in natural way."

While testing has been a hot-button issue in the current baseball scandal, it has not gotten much discussion in high schools. The cost of testing is one reason. Tests can run around $100 as compared to less than $30 for marijuana tests. There are also privacy issues. Some schools that have tried testing have found themselves in courts facing lawsuits. The BALCO case has put a spotlight on the issue of steroids. While it may ultimately lead to a decrease in steroid use, it may cause an increase in the immediate future. Sports fans who wake up every morning and watch SportsCenter before school see what the drugs have done for their favorite athletes.

"Instead of it deterring them, it may encourage them," said Paterson Catholic (N.J.) football coach Benjie Wimberly. "As a kid you think you're invulnerable. You think you're God."

Drew Voight