Doping Performance Enhancing Drugs

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Pages: 5

Doping, or using performance enhancing drugs, is an area of concern in the athletic world. There are three main reasons why athletes indulge in performance enhancing drugs: therapeutic use for the treatment of medical conditions, social and ‘recreational’ use, and performance enhancement. Some of these drugs include designer steroids, androstenedione, human growth hormone, erythropoietin, diuretics, creatine, stimulants, ect. The use of these narcotics are used predominantly in sports that require high amounts of muscle mass. A few examples of these sports include, cycling, with 3.6% positive test results, weightlifting at 3.0%, boxing at 2.9%, triathlons at 2.7%, and baseball with 2.5 positive test results. The public is debating whether …show more content…
The previously mentioned drugs have a variety of detrimental effects. Designer steroids are made specifically for athletes, but are currently illegal. For men the use of this can result in prominent breasts, baldness, shrunken testicles, infertility, impotence, and prostate gland enlargement. In men and women the use of designer steroids can develop to increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture, liver abnormalities and tumors, increased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, high blood pressure (hypertension), and heart and circulatory problems. Androstenedione increases athlete’s ability to train harder and recover faster, with risk factors for men that include diminished sperm production, shrinking of the testicles, and enlargement of the breasts. Women may experience increased breakouts of acne and masculinization. Human growth hormone, gonadotropin, taken by athletes to improve muscle mass and performance, hasn't been proven to improve either strength or endurance. This is one of the prescribed performance enhancers. The risks of human growth hormones include, Joint pain, muscle weakness, fluid retention, vision problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, impaired glucose regulation, enlarged heart (cardiomegaly), high cholesterol (hyperlipidemia), diabetes, and high blood pressure (hypertension). Erythropoietin is commonly used …show more content…
Without the uniform, viewers can identify the bear as a symbol of Russia, but with the uniform included viewers immediately relate this image to the Russian doping scandal. This began to be an immense issue in the 2016 Rio Olympics and continuing into the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. This predicament went against the antidoping regulations set at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Especially in today’s athletic community, use of performance enhancing drugs has taken a huge role in how athletes train. This is disrupting historical records and the health of participating