Steroids have been used for decades now and I still don’t know specifically why. I’m aware it’s a drug that’s supposed to enhance physical abilities so why is it hated so much? If they are so bad, why do when athletes take them, they are a terrible thing, but when a body builder uses them it’s not as bad. What is the deal with Steroids? Why does it appear that everyone hates them?

“Anabolic steroids are drugs that help the growth and repair of muscle tissue. They are synthetic hormones that imitate male sex hormones, specifically testosterone.”

Testosterone was initially synthesized in Germany in 1935 and was used for medical use to treat depression. German chemist Adolf Butenandt was the first to perform in-depth research into the creation of anabolic steroids. It all started with isolating the male hormone androstenone from thousands of liters of urine. Before we get into the steroids, who was the man behind them?

 Adolf Frederick Johann Butenandt was the son of a businessman who studied Chemistry at the Universities of Marburg and Göttingen. He was a scientific assistant at a few schools after his graduation in 1927 until he became a professor at the University of Berlin and Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry until 1960. Although he started the studies on steroids, he will always be best known for his work with sex hormones. He recognized with a Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1939 along with Leopold Ružička, a Croatian-Swiss scientist. Throughout Butenandt’s life he was awarded several medals and prizes from Germany, France, Sweden, and England. He earned the Grand Cross for Federal Services with Star in 1959. He holds six honorary doctorates from Munich, Graz, Leeds, Madrid and two from Tübingen(schools) and is Freeman of the city of Bremerhaven. He is an honorary life member of the New York Academy of Sciences, honorary member of the Japanese Biochemical Society, the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, Halle, and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Anabolic steroids were created in the early 1930s when Butenandt “isolated the male hormone androstenone from thousands of liters of urine. Following the success of those early experiments with androstenone, several teams of scientists, backed by pharmaceutical companies, worked to synthesize the more powerful male hormone testosterone.” During the same year Butenandt was recognized for his Nobel Prize the science world was already experimenting with testosterone injections on human subjects. “During the 1940s and 1950s experiments with steroids continued and it’s use widened among athletes and body builders, especially in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries. The overwhelming domination by these countries in weightlifting events at the 1952 Olympics, prompted U.S. Olympic Team physician Dr. John Ziegler to begin issuing steroids to his athletes. Dr. Ziegler recruited the help of chemists to develop a compound that would achieve the same results for strength building as the Eastern Bloc countries steroids but with fewer side effects. The result was the first FDA approved steroid Dianabol” (Dbol). 

I’ve come to realize that the use of the drug was all in pursuit of fair competition. I still can’t see why steroids are bad now, it still looks like a tool used to just level the playing field for athletes everywhere. Testosterone was already legal so why would it be okay when prescribed for a patient, but not for an athlete?

“By the 1960s and 1970s, steroid use by Olympic athletes prompted the ban of its use. A study by BYU faculty member and former world record holder for discus Jay Sylvester, showed that over 68 percent of the athletes at the 1972 Olympics were using or had used steroids. And in 1976, East Germany further created controversy with its women’s track and swim teams when it was discovered that their Wonder Girls (as they came to be known) were taking steroids given to them by their trainers who told them they were vitamins. The heavy use of steroids at these games created new rules and testing procedures for Olympic athletes.”

By this time in history there still wasn’t a clear answer as to why steroids shouldn’t be used. I could only assume people thought steroids were ruining the authenticity of the competition. There were tests where the anabolic steroids would be “having little to no effect on the body because patients who were given a placebo showed no different results than those who were given real doses of steroids.” Studies were beginning to show that the body was being affected by the consistent intake of the drug, which is why it was being banned. “The results of this study were widely cited as fact for almost two decades, despite the fact that the study only used low doses of steroids in people and had zero control over such aspects as diet, weight or health of the subjects involved.”

As the use of steroids declined in the Olympic scene it was only escalating in rising body building community and amongst athletes in a range of sports. The use of steroids was short-lived in professional sports leagues such as the NBA and NFL. As athletes began using them, regulators and officials banned them from the leagues quickly and administered rules and screening for the drug. 

“In 1991, the government stepped in and made steroids a Schedule III controlled substance, making their non-prescribed possession and distribution illegal and punishable by fines and prison terms. Public backlash to steroid use continued to grow throughout the 1990s, fueled by reports of doping scandals in America’s Pastime Major League Baseball. As reports of baseball’s biggest stars using steroids came to light in the press, the world learned more and more about steroid use and its many new forms.” 

“Anabolic steroids work by imitating the properties of naturally occurring hormones. They have a similar chemical composition to testosterone and are therefore able to activate our testosterone receptors. Once the receptors are stimulated, a domino effect of metabolic reactions takes place as the drug instructs the body to increase muscle tissue production.” The drug is a short cut or an advantage that the body isn’t supposed to have.”

People find the use of anabolic steroids embarrassing in a competitive setting because you need an advantage over your peers instead of managing to win with your own talents. The use of steroids is wrong for the right group of people. There are those who have gotten away with using steroids and have probably never told a soul. Some people want a win so bad that steroids are the only way for them to go.

What worries people the most are the side effects of anabolic steroids. The idea that “There is no safe level of drug use” has become popular amongst many communities. In the body building community, to be completely natural is the most impressive thing to do, especially when you reach an aesthetically pleasing physique. Many competitors today still take steroids and supplements when preparing for shows. Many professional lifters advocate for not taking steroids after taking the drugs themselves, but many young bodybuilders are chasing an ideal physique. 

When taking anabolic steroids side effects can include water retention, which causes facial bloating, acne and facial scarring, mood swings, heightened aggression and violence, frequently suffering from colds, an increase in sex drive and having difficulties sleeping. Those are only the minor effects. Long term effects include liver damage, kidney or prostate cancer, high blood pressure, depression, cardiovascular complications and tendon or ligament damage. The testosterone affects men and women differently as well. Men can lose sperm, shrunken testicles, baldness, gynaecomastia (developing breasts) and involuntary long-lasting erections. Women suffer from sudden facial hair growth, irregular periods, deepened voice, smaller breasts and enlarged clitoris. The stigma that follows the idea of steroids will always be there, but it won’t matter to the many that feel they need it. Lifters from thirty years ago would say they didn’t know the effects they could have on them, but it’s about the now for those who use steroids today.

Are steroids really bad? It’s up to you to decide. It’s all about perspective. Do you need them? Do you want them? Is it worth it? There are legal steroids that still have side effects that no one would want to experience either. It’s not about the drug, it’s about the person who wants to use it.