What They'll Do for the Team Podcast
Jake F. of Hastings, NY, wants to get bigger like the seniors on his varsity basketball team. “I saw protein powder on display in the health food store and asked my dad if I could take it. Now I add 1 scoop of protein powder to a glass of milk after practice,” says Jake, age 14.
Sue J. of Short Hills, NJ, noticed one of the girls on her daughter Lucy’s high school lacrosse team was losing too much weight too fast. “Some parents have their heads in the sand, but luckily, her parents saw that something was wrong and got her to a doctor in time,” says Sue, the mother of three teens.
As Congress focuses on Major League Baseball players’ alleged use of steroids and human growth hormone, medical experts are warning that teens nationwide are taking these performance-enhancing drugs under the misconception they will enhance looks, strength, and speed.
Hundreds of thousands of teens have used steroids. A study in the January 2008 Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise shows that most teens who take steroids look upon professional athletes as role models. More than half of 3,200 8th to 12th graders in 12 states surveyed said they'd take drugs to excel even if it shortened their lives, and about two-thirds say they’d take drugs, including dietary supplements, to guarantee athletic success even if it harmed their health. The survey found 2.4% of males and 0.8% of females said they had used steroids.
Most steroid users are boys who want to bulk up, but some girls use steroids for body shaping. Girls mostly want to become leaner and lose fat, and often turn to laxatives, diuretics, weight loss pills, and cigarettes.
Kathy Smith, Roanoke, VA 03/21/08
Something not mentioned here is wrestler's struggles to "make weight". Boys are wrestling at weights that are not healthy, too low for their naturally growing bodies, and they starve themselves to make weight and then binge eat. Some of them spit for hours to try to lose weight! The younger boys learn all of the bad habits of the older ones, while the coaches look the other way or are unaware.
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