Performance Enhancing Drugs

In today’s world of athletics, athletes must be aware of performance enhancing drugs.  Nowadays the science lab plays a major role in the performance of an athlete. According to many athletes, it has been reported that as many as 80% of athletes at the 2000 Olympic Games were using performance enhancing drugs.  There have been many reports of athletes being given drugs by team management and the athlete not knowing that they are illegal.  Athletes should be well versed on the effects of each drug and there implications.  The most widely used drug amongst sprinters are anabolic steroids, whilst distance athletes favor EPO.

 Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids are drugs that resemble testosterone, a hormone that is produced in the testes of males and, to a much lesser extent, in the ovaries of females. Testosterone is partially responsible for the developmental changes that occur during puberty and adolescence and is also involved in controlling the rates of buildup and breakdown of the main biochemical components of all tissues, including muscle.

Because testosterone and related drugs affect muscle growth, raising their levels in the blood help athletes increase muscle size and strength. Athletes who use anabolic steroids also claim that they reduce body fat and recovery time after injury.