Discribes what steriods are, how they work, and why people misuse them.

This book examines the issue of performance-enhancing drugs and its surrounding arguments. Performance-Enhancing Drugs familiarizes readers with the history of these drugs, the motivators for using them, and their side effects. Some of the biggest scandals involving performance-enhancing drugs are included, and ways to combat use of these drugs are also addressed. Color photos and informative sidebars accompany easy-to-follow text. Features include a timeline, facts, additional resources, web sites, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index.

Steroids are used for medicinal purposes but are more often abused to improve athletic performance or appearance. The abuse of steroids follows a pattern similar to that of drug addiction, where those who are addicted will continue to use steroids even after recognizing that the drug is damaging their body and relationships. Steroid abuse originated, to a large extent, in the athletic world. The administration of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by trainers and athletes is referred to as doping. Although it is known to occur among professional athletes, amateur and student athletes are guilty of doping too. Steroids and Other Performance-Enhancing Drugs explains what steroids are, their medical benefits when used properly, and the damage they do when abused--From the publisher.

While steroids are medically useful in small, prescribed doses, they are too often abused in sports alongside other performance-enhancing drugs. Young athletes may feel their natural performance is not good enough, so they may turn to these drugs to get ahead. Young athletes are informed about the risky effects of abusing these drugs to combat the allure of being perceived as a better player. Sidebars and full-color photographs help portray the dangerous consequences of this type of drug abuse.

Doping, Performance-Enhancing Drugs, and Hormones in Sport: Mechanisms of Action and Methods of Detection examines the biochemistry and bioanalytical aspects of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and other questionable procedures used by athletes to enhance performance. The book informs the specialist of emerging knowledge and techniques and allows the non-specialist to grasp the underlying science and current practice of the discipline. With clear and compelling language appropriate for a broad spectrum of readers, this book provides background on prevalence, types of agents, their actual or supposed benefits, and their negative effects on health. The technical aspects of detection are discussed, followed by a discussion of why detection is a problematic and still-evolving science. To facilitate comprehension, each chapter is organized in a uniform way with six sections: (1) standard medical uses, (2) why the drugs are used by athletes, (3) biological mechanism of action, (4) what research says about efficacy in improving performance, (5) major health side effects from use and abuse in sport, and 6) concluding key points. - Presents the scientific concepts of how performance enhancers work, how they are used, and how they are detected and masked from detection - Features language that is neither simplistic to scientists nor too sophisticated for a large, diverse global audience - Provides a short "close-up in each chapter to illustrate key topics that engage, entertain, and create a novel synthesis of thought

You may have heard of famous sports stars being caught doping—using drugs to hit harder, cycle faster, or run faster. But you may not know why these drugs are so dangerous. From scary changes in your body and behavior, to problems with the law, performance-enhancing drugs bring with them serious consequences. Learn about the ways steroids, human growth hormone, and other drugs damage and change your body. Find out how these drugs can ruin your life and keep you from participating in the activities you love. Discover the downside of doping!

Steroids are used for medicinal purposes but are more often abused to improve athletic performance or appearance. The abuse of steroids follows a pattern similar to that of drug addiction, where those who are addicted will continue to use steroids even after recognizing that the drug is damaging their body and relationships. Steroid abuse originated, to a large extent, in the athletic world. The administration of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by trainers and athletes is referred to as doping. Although it is known to occur among professional athletes, amateur and student athletes are guilty of doping too. Steroids and Other Performance-Enhancing Drugs explains what steroids are, their medical benefits when used properly, and the damage they do when abused.

"This thin volume will be well used by students, coaches, parents, and educators who want to build up their knowledge of the issues surrounding steroids."WILSON LIBRARY BULLETIN

Discusses the effects of illegal performance enhancing drugs, including steroids.

Sports fans or not, readers will be fascinated by this revealing examination of the pressures leading to the widespread use of steroids in sport and the negative, unintended consequences of their ban. From Baron Pierre de Coubertin's original objectives in establishing the modern Olympic Games to the increasingly widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs during the Cold War to the 1998 drug scandal during the Tour de France and beyond, Steroids: A New Look at Performance-Enhancing Drugs puts the social construction of steroids as a banned substance under the microscope and interprets the implications of that particular conception of steroid use in sport. Clearly written and highly accessible for all readers, this book addresses a pressing issue in professional and high-performance sport—the use of steroids—by placing it within the historical context of the ongoing desire to achieve the pinnacle of human sport. Topics examined in detail include the three major crises of Ben Johnson's positive test in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the creation of the World Anti-Doping Association, and the House Committee on Government Oversight's probe into steroid use. The author provides a critical examination of the current ban on steroids, and boldly advocates a common-sense solution to the complex problem of steroid use in sport: the adoption of harm-reduction strategies and policies rather than outright proscription.