I Was A Teenage Science Project: Adolescent Steroid Use
 
(Published in Muscle & Fitness Magazine, April, 1997, page 200)
 
It sounds like something Bart Simpson might have come up with--Can't you picture him growing big muscles, hair on his back, horrid acne, and throwing temper tantrums at the dinner table or on the playground. Then, after a couple of days, because it's a cartoon and everything happens faster in cartoons, he'd get an award at the science fair. But of course his sister would turn him in for having used illegal substances, and she'd win instead for the incredible psychological analysis she did on him during his episodes of 'roid rage. Only in cartoons.
 
In real life, the story is different, because as many as 11 percent of Bart's male classmates would have known what was happening to him. At least in Arkansas they would have, according to a survey of high school juniors at six different schools which found that 95 of 853 boys (11.1%) had used or were using steroids. Figures nationally are lower, more like 5% in adolescent males, and even lower in women (up to 2%). Nonetheless, the figures are impressive, and it seems that the numbers are rising.
 
While scare tactics have been employed to try to frighten kids away from drugs, the truth is that adolescents may be at greater risk of some of the side effects of steroid use, such as stunted growth and psychological problems including drug addiction. In adolescence, the body is just seething with all sorts of hormones, which are trying to turn boys and girls into men and women. Throwing extra substances into the broth just gets the whole process confused, and before you know it the body rebels. Acne, common in adolescence anyway, can be worsened. Hypertension and alterations in lipoprotein levels may occur. Gynecomastia and decreased sperm production can develop. The risk of musculotendinous injuries is increased. Liver disease and tumors have been reported. Finally, psychologic disturbances may be present. Many of the young people using these drugs are unaware of the side effects, and they may not be entirely aware of the potential benefits.
 
The other, perhaps more frightening real life story is that a large number of adolescent men who use steroids are likely to use other drugs, such as marijuana or cocaine, and engage in risk-taking behaviors. Individuals who use injectable steroids are more likely to use other injected drugs, and in many cases, needles may be shared. That places these users at higher risk for hepatitis and AIDS.
 
Not all of these steroids are guaranteeing college scholarships either. While male users are usually athletes with 65 to 84% of users involved in sports, others are using them "to look better" or "because their friends are doing them". Adolescence is a tough time, and many guys will do whatever it takes to fit in. Sometimes drugs are the way, and sometimes the drugs they choose are steroids.
 
The adolescent body is enough of an experiment without exogenous hormones and drugs. While Bart Simpson's side effects can be corrected with an artist's pen and ink, such is not the case in real people, where side effects can be permanent or at least expensive to fix. Before you turn yourself into a human guinea pig, get all of the facts--and then stick with good nutrition, hard work and lots of rest, a winning combination in health and fitness--and science projects!