Performance Enhancing Supplements Essay - 2066 Words

Performance Enhancing Supplements Northeastern junior Colin Magee is like other athletic students around campus. He played sports in high school and now lifts weights at the Marino Center, Northeastern’s multi-million dollar workout center, several times a week. Also like many other weight-lifting students, Magee takes performance-enhancing supplements. Performance-enhancing supplements are nutrients that, unlike anabolic steroids, are available over the counter at countless supermarkets and nutrition stores nationwide. Supplements such as androstenedione (andro), creatine, tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), and NO2 are the most popular in today’s market, and are used to improve muscle gain. They are taken to coincide with a†¦show more content†¦Of 21,225 student athletes who anonymously completed a questionnaire, 29.2% said they currently used â€Å"some type of supplement other than multivitamins,† the NCAA News reported. Of those supplement users, the major reasons student-athletes used the supplements were to improve athletic performance (27.3%), to improve physical appearance (also 27.3%), and for weight loss/gain (19.7%). Steroid use is not strictly a problem among college-aged students. There is evidence steroid use can oftentimes start much earlier than in college. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conducted in 2001, 3.7% of high school seniors have taken anabolic steroids, while 2.1% of high school juniors and 1.6% of eighth graders have reported to have also at least once taken steroids. It has been proven by numerous studies that if exposed to steroids in high school, teenagers will almost always continue using steroids in college. According to a study done by the National Institute of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements and the Council for Responsible Nutrition, about 42% of NCAA athletes who reported in 2001 that they use steroids said they brought the habit with them from high school. The numbers for how many college athletes use over-the-counter supplements are much higher than steroid numbers. According to a survey ofShow MoreRelatedPerformance Enhancing Drugs And Supplements Plague The Athletic Playing Field Worldwide2011 Words   |  9 PagesHistorical National Football League coach and manager Vince Lombardi once said, â€Å"Winning isn t everything--but wanting to win is†. The want to win, is real; it is embodied by the usage of performance enhancing drugs. Blood doping increases the count of red blood cells in the body, anabolic steroids accelerate the growth of muscle and strengthen the bones, and stimulants increase alertness, competitiveness, aggressiveness and reduce fatigue. All of these materials have clear benefits but the healthRead MoreEssay on Performance Enhancing Drugs Among Athletes935 Words   |  4 PagesSince the dawn of the twenty-first century, performance enhancing drugs have become a religious practice in â€Å"the lives of som e sport figures.† The use of these supplements have given athletes an edge to perform at maximum capability. Most major athletes all agree on the fact that the competitive drive is intensely fierce. Despite all, most athletes have high hopes of attaining prestigious awards, a full ride college scholarship or the once in a lifetime opportunity to play for a professional teamRead MoreThe Benefits of Performance Enhancing Drugs Among Athletes Essay1044 Words   |  5 PagesSince the dawn of the twenty-first century, performance enhancing drugs have become a religious practice in â€Å"the lives of some sport figures.† The use of these supplements have given the user an edge, an edge to perform at maximum capability. Most major athletes all agree on the fact that the competitive drive to win can be quite intense. Besides the satisfaction of personal accomplishment, athletes commonly pursue high hopes of attaining a medal, a college scholarship or the once in a lifetime opp ortunityRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs Among Athletes Essay944 Words   |  4 PagesSince the dawn of the twenty-first century, performance enhancing drugs have become a religious practice in â€Å"the lives of some sport figures.† The use of these supplements have given the user an edge, an edge to perform at maximum capability. Most major athletes all agree on the fact that the competitive determination to win is intense. Despite all, most athletes have high hopes of either winning a medal, a full ride college scholarship or the once in a lifetime opportunity to play for a professionalRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Banned1645 Words   |  7 Pagesthe rules by using performance enhancing drugs each year. Performance enhancing drugs help athletes to becomes bigger, faster, and overall better at their individual sport. This process is called doping. Doping can be defined as using drugs and various substances to better perform at a particular task. Furth ermore, these athletes act in the moment and fail to see all aspects of these performance enhancing drugs. Contradictorily, some individuals argue that performance enhancing drugs should in factRead Moreâ€Å"Performance-Enhancing Drugs in the Workplace† Essay1392 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Performance-Enhancing Drugs in the Workplace† Performance-enhancers are becoming more common in our everyday life, despite our efforts to ban them. This raises the questions, should we just accept these drugs and use them to our advantage? Or should we continue to resist these drugs and not take advantage of their performance-enhancing capabilities? When you start talking about organizations like the military, where Soldiers are ask to go beyond the normal physical and mental stress of a regularRead MorePerformance Enhancing Drugs. . Performance-Enhancing Drugs1580 Words   |  7 PagesPerformance Enhancing Drugs Performance-enhancing drugs (PED s) have been an issue for many decades now for the medical and sports field. Olympic and professional athletes have been using them to gain an upper hand on the competition, but some may ask if it s really worth it? Studies show that performance-enhancing drugs have been proven to negatively affect the health of athletes who take them. Simply put, performance-enhancing drugs could either improve athletic performance or can be extremelyRead MoreDo People Understand The Harmful Effects Of Performance?712 Words   |  3 Pagesthe harmful effects of performance enhancers like steroids, stimulants, relaxants, diuretics, and painkillers have on athletes? Body 1. Need step: Performance enhancers of any kind can be a detriment not only to an athlete’s health, but also to their careers. HEALTH- Athletes start to question their credibility and ability to perform, which leads them to pursue paths they wouldn’t otherwise pursue. There are negative, long-term effects that come along with taking performance enhancers such as: growthRead MoreEthical Dilemmas : Performance Enhancing Drugs1674 Words   |  7 PagesEthical Dilemmas: Performance Enhancing Drugs Today’s society places high-performance athletes on a pedestal and our youth look to become the next superstar. The question plaguing young athletes is â€Å"how can I get there?†. Physical development must be considered for any athlete and this consequently introduces the topic of performance enhancing drugs. These substances can cause physical development to occur faster than the natural rate, making the athlete a step above â€Å"the rest†. Ethical, moralRead More Performance Enhancing Drugs Essay1759 Words   |  8 PagesPerformance Enhancing Drugs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When most people think of performance-enhancing drugs the first thought that comes to their minds is the illegal ones like steroids, but today there are more non-illegal drugs like creatine and androstenedione for people today. Creatine is a chemical produced by the kidney and found in meat product. It helps muscles recover after a workout, which in turn helps athletes bulk up faster (Gregorian 5). Creatine is used by many of the nations top college sports teams