Performance-Enhancing

Drugs/Substances
 Statistics
• National Institute on Drug Abuse stated that that 3.4 percent of high
school seniors nationwide admitted to using steroids at least once
last year.
• That is about 1 - 3 students in class
• That 3.4% is equivalent to 640,000 high school athletes, both boys
and girls that had tried steroids at least once
• Among eighth graders, that figure was nearly 2 percent.
• Over the course of 2013-14, the NJSIAA tested 495 athletes from 78
schools and 12 sports, and three athletes tested positive
• In the State of New Jersey, any athlete who qualifies for a state
championship tournament can be tested. This means that if a team
qualifies for a state tournament, any athlete on the team can be tested,
or if an athlete qualifies for a state championship in an individual sport
like track and field or wrestling, that individual can be tested.
Types of PEDs and Performance Enhancing
Substances
• Anabolic steroids
• Androstenedione
• Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
• Erythropoietin
• Diuretics
• Creatine
• Stimulants
In some cases, supplements have been known to pick up
contaminants from other substances, including
performance-enhancing drugs
Variations of Steroids and Performance-
Enhancing Substances

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Definition of Performance-Enhancing Substance

A manufactured product for oral ingestion, intranasal

application or inhalation containing
compounds*****that:

– Contain a stimulant, amino acid, hormone precursor herb or

other botanical (Plants) or any other substance other than an
essential vitamin or mineral

– Intended to increase athletic performance, promote muscle

growth, induce weight loss or increase an individual’s
endurance or capacity for exercise.

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 Definition of Anabolic Steroid

• Includes any drug or hormonal substance

chemically or pharmacologically related to
testosterone
• It increases lean muscle mass, strength and ability
to train longer and harder.
• All prohormones and all substances listed in the
Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004.
• Does not include estrogens, progestins, corticosteroids, or
mineralocorticoids.
 Dangers of Anabolic Steroids
Steroids are dangerous for three reasons:
– They are ILLEGAL.
– At risk for infection with HIV, if share needles with
other users
– They can damage a person’s mental and physical
health.
• If used by adolescents, can have permanent negative
consequences
 Some Health Risks for Both
Males and Females:
– Acne, really bad acne, – Headaches, aching joints,
especially on face and and muscle cramps
back. – Increased risk of ligament
– Stunted growth in teens and tendon injuries, which
(by causing bones to can end an athlete’s career
mature too fast and stop for good
growing at an early age) – Weight gain
– High blood pressure, – Baldness
unhealthy cholestrol – Mood swings
changes, and heart – Problems Sleeping
disease – Aggression
– Blood clots and stroke
– Liver damage, jaundice,
or liver cancer
 Health Risks for Males:

• Shrinking of the testicles

• Low sperm count
• Impotence (inability to get an erection)
• Increased breast growth in males, especially
teens
• Enlarged prostate
• Pain when urinating
 Health Risks for Females:
• Breast shrinkage
• Male-type facial and body hair growth
• Deepening of the voice
• Problems with menstrual periods
• Enlarged clitoris
• Menstrual cycle changes
 Psychological Health Risks:

• “Roid rage”- severe, aggressive behavior that may

result in violence, such as fighting or destroying
property
• Severe mood swings
• Paranoia - extreme feelings of mistrust and fear
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Depression and thoughts of suicide
• Delusions – believe things that aren’t true
• Higher risk for using other drugs, to counteract some
of the negative effects of steroids
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 Definition of “Cycling”

• Cycling involves taking multiple doses of steroids

over a specific period of time, stopping for a
period, and starting again.****

• Anabolic steroids are taken orally or injected,

typically in cycles of weeks or months, rather
than continuously.

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 Definition of “Stacking”

• Users often combine two or more different

types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness
while trying to minimize negative effects.
 Definition of “Pyramiding”****
• Start with a low dose and gradually increase
the dose
• Start with a low dose and gradually increase
the frequency of doses
• Start with a low dose and gradually increase
the number of anabolic steroids taken
• Then taper off to complete a cycle
 Stimulants:
Amphetamine, Ephedrine
• Available over the counter in many applications outside of dietary
supplements (dietary supplements containing ephedrine are illegal in the
U.S.).
• In these applications, the drug functions as a decongestant, a treatment
for menstrual or urine-control problems or a medication to counteract
low blood pressure associated with anesthesia.
• Stimulants comprise a large group of substances that include everything
from the caffeine in coffee to illegal drugs such as crack cocaine and
Amphetamines.
• Stimulants increase the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain
• Stimulants are typically abused with the goal to increase energy and
alertness, elevate mood, and boost athletic performance.
• Athletes take stimulants to improve endurance, reduce fatigue and
increase aggressiveness. And someone trying to qualify for a lower weight
class may rely on stimulants for their ability to suppress appetite
 Stimulus – Effects on Body
• Short-term: reduce fatigue, suppress appetite,
and increase alertness, but may also lead to
insomnia and feelings of nervousness,
irritability, paranoia, or aggression
• Long-term: heart attack, heart palpatations,
brain hemorrage, hallucinations
 HGH – Human Growth Hormone
• Human Growth Hormone is naturally produced by the pituitary
gland (the pea-sized organ located at the base of the brain) to
stimulate growth in children and adolescents and to increase muscle
mass in adults and stimulates growth and cell formation in humans.
• HGH is prescribed for people with certain diseases such as: HIV/Aids
or dwarfism
• Illegal Use: Athletes use HGH for increased recovery time, it does
not help in muscle growth
• As soon as synthetic HGH became available as a prescription
medication in 1985, when the US Food and Drug
Administration approved its use for a number of diseases that delay
growth or cause muscle deterioration, athletes began eyeing it as a
doping agent. They figured it could mimic the muscle-building
effects of anabolic steroids.
 Side Effects of HGH
• HGH can cause swelling in the arms and legs,
arthritis-like symptoms, carpal tunnel
syndrome, headaches, bloating, and muscle
pain.
• Long-term HGH use can lead to diabetes,
abnormal growth of bones and organs,
hardening of arteries, and high blood-
pressure.
 EPO – Erythropoietin
• EPO is a hormone produced by the kidneys that stimulates bone marrow
to make healthy red blood cells, thereby increasing the oxygen-carrying
capacity of the blood.
• EPO has been abused as a performance enhancing substance by
endurance athletes such as cyclists, long-distance runners, speed-skaters
and cross-country skiers.
• Red Blood Cells carry oxygen throughout the body, so it makes sense that
if an athlete can increase his red blood cell count, he'll deliver more
oxygen to his muscles and perform at a higher level.
• Blood doping -- removing and preserving a supply of blood so it can be
returned, via transfusion, to the body right before competition.
• Taking erythropoietin, or EPO, increases red blood cell production
without the need for transfusions. That's what the biotechnology firm
Amgen was looking to address when it introduced synthetic EPO in 1985.
By the 1990s though, cyclists and other endurance athletes had
discovered that they could train longer and harder if they took the drug
regularly.
 EPO – Effect on the Body
• EPO is dangerous because it increases blood
viscosity, or thickness. If blood becomes too
“thick,” blood can sludge and clog capillaries.
If this happens in the brain, a stroke will result.
If it happens in the heart, a heart attack will
occur.
 Creatine – Supplement
• Creatine is produced in small quantities in the body
• A natural supplement found in meat and fish
• Turns into creatine phosphate in the body. Creatine
phosphate helps make a substance called adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) which provides the energy for muscle
contractions.
• It set, instant energy for short high intensity exercise
• Creatine increases your muscle’s energy and helps you get
through a couple more reps in the set, but it is far from
being a form of anabolic steroid
 Creatine
• Popular because OTC availability supplement
• Best known for improving performance in sports involving short bursts of
high-intensity activity, such as power lifting, wrestling and sprinting.
• International Olympic Committee, professional sports leagues, and the
National Collegiate Athletic Association do not prohibit creatine.
• NCAA restricts what substances can be provided to student-athletes
Examples of impermissible ingredients that cannot be given to athletes include:
•Amino acids (including amino acid chelates)
•Chondroitin (unless for medical condition)
•Creatine/compounds containing creatine
•Ginko Biloba
•Ginseng
•Glucosamine (unless for medical condition)
•Green tea
•Protein powders
•St. John’s Wort - is an herb that has been widely steeped in the tradition of healing in over 400
years of cited medicinal uses
•Weight gainers
•Any product with more than 30 percent calories from protein.
 Side Effects
Creatine can have reverse effects
•Causes cramping, dehydration and fluid retention.
•Weight gain
•Anxiety
•Breathing difficulty
•Diarrhea
•Fatigue
•Fever
•Headache
•Kidney problems
•Nausea, vomiting
•Rash
•Stomach upset
•Certain drugs, including diabetes medications, acetaminophen, and diuretics,
can have dangerous interactions with creatine. Taking the stimulants caffeine
and ephedra with creatine can increase the risk of side effects.
 HYDRATION and Creatine
• Teens may be taking creatine to bulk up
• What actually happens is that your muscles draw
water away from the rest of your body.
– The bulking up you experience is often the result of the
extra water stored in your muscles, not increased muscle
mass.
– You don't gain extra strength from water. But you may get
seriously dehydrated from the redirection of your body's
water to your muscles.
• The effects of creatine on children and teens haven't been
studied. And most studies of adults have followed participants
for only a short time — as little as six weeks — so the long-
term effects are unknown.
 Diuretics
• A diuretic is any drug that affects kidney function, resulting in increased
urine output commonly known as “water pills” which prevents fluids and
salts from being reabsorbed into the kidney tubules and returned to
the blood. As a result, more water leaves the body.
• Helps lose weight in a short period of time
• Athletes who take anabolic steroids pop diuretics to dilute their urine,
which decreases steroid concentration and makes it much more difficult
to detect. (Of course, athletes can be tested for diuretics though, too.)
• Weightlifters and boxers may also down water pills to expel large amounts
of fluid, which qualifies them to compete in a lower weight category.
Then, right before the match, they stop taking the pills to return to their
heavier fighting weight, giving them an advantage against their
opponents.
• Side effects – electrolyte imbalance in body, causing fatigue, weakness,
diarrhea, heart palpitations, cramping.
• Serious side effect – Kidney damage
Why do students take anabolic steroids
or performance-enhancing substances?
To:
• Boost athletic performance
• Build muscle
• Increase body mass
• Lose body fat

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What influences a student to take
anabolic steroids or performance-
enhancing substances?

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Desire to Emulate Role Models

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Peer Pressure to Succeed

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 Media Influences

Images that portray steroids in a positive light 30

Desired Body Image
Based on Gender

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