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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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0 1 - 0 8 - 2 0 0 6 The young boys risking their health for a better body
BETH PEARSON Like any 18-year-old boy, Leon Flaherty wanted more attention from girls than he was receiving. When he talked about it with his elder brother and his bodybuilding friends, the advice was plentiful. First, they said to work out at the gym. Then protein supplements were recommended. But it wasn't long until someone mentioned anabolic steroids. "When I look back now I really didn't have a clue, like most new young gym users," says Flaherty, now aged 21. "What I knew about steroids I had only heard from other people and whether they had any first-hand experience I don't know. Even once I'd started taking them, I knew very little about them. In fact, hardly anything." His first course of steroids, known as a "cycle", comprised Winstrol, a popular steroid that has been implicated in many high-profile athletics cases. He soon noticed the effects. "I got big quick," he says. "But I also noticed that I was more ratty and I became drawn into arguments more easily. I became bloated through water retention and noticed my body's production of testosterone had shut down, which caused me a lot of concern though I carried on until my cycle finished. [Hum... Dat was geen Winstrol, Leon - red.] "Not long after, maybe three months, I did another course using Dianabol, with very similar effects. After both cycles I lost a lot of what I put on and after time I had gained nothing. After a few people noticed what I had done, I decided not to use them again." Flaherty now regrets taking steroids as early as he did. Yet he is not alone. A leading British expert recently warned that as many as 100,000 boys throughout the country are using anabolic steroids (basically artificially produced hormones). Dr Rob Dawson, who runs the Drugs In Sport Clinic and User's Support (Discus) in County Durham, has treated patients as young as 15. He says it is a very real problem and society will neglect it at its peril. "We need to raise awareness that these drugs are potentially harmful and not as wonderful as people think they are." The increase in the use of steroids has been attributed to media images of muscular heros and celebrities. Ten-year-old Richard Sandrak was one famous case. Sandrak, who says he never took steroids, claimed to be, pound for pound, the world's strongest human being. It is not just the medical profession which has observed the change in attitude to steroids among young people. Indeed, a common first point of contact for those who wish to take them is the forums, or discussion pages, on specialist bodybuilding websites. Those who run such websites report more and more queries from teenage boys who want to take steroids for rapid muscle gain. Paul Govier is the manager of Muscle UK, one of the country's most popular sites. "We get a lot of 16-to-19-year-olds coming on to the forums," he says. "They ask things like: 'How can I put on five stone in four weeks – do I take Dianabol?' Or they'll say: 'I'm 17 and I have been training for three months, but my gains have stopped. I want to look like Arnie by the end of the year – how much Sust (Sustanon – a combination of four testosterones) do I need to inject to achieve this?' "I'm not joking – some of the stuff I get asked makes me roll on the floor with laughter at times. But I have to take it seriously and advise them the best that I can." The dangers of steroids for growing boys are clear. Taking testosterone as an adult interferes with the body's natural production of the hormone; taking it while the body's endocrine system is still developing can do permanent damage to testicular growth and function. Teenage males can also be more susceptible to the common steroid side-effect of gynaecomastia, or male breasts, which can be irreversible. [Is dat zo? - red.] In addition, growth plates can close prematurely, thereby halting natural growth. While taking testosterone as a grown man causes teenage-like symptoms, including acne and mood swings, research published earlier this year suggested that they can "flip a switch" in teen brains and result in lasting aggressive tendencies. The study, published in Behavioural Neuroscience, involved steroids being administered to hamsters, which then exhibited uncharacteristic aggressive behaviour while on and off the drugs. A further long-term effect of steroid use is liver and kidney problems. Yet if youngsters are naive, they can also be headstrong. Bodybuilding forums have become a popular way for bodybuilders to gain advice and peer-approval on exercise and nutrition plans, and teenagers can therefore use them as a way to find out what more experienced bodybuilders do. Many experienced bodybuilders discourage youngsters from trying steroids by talking about what happened to them. Here is one such account: "I had no real direct bad experiences on my first cycle, aside from acne and painful erections that seemingly came from nowhere. "Here I am now, about the same age as you. I finished my last cycle a month ago. My natural test (testosterone) levels are still way off recovering, I have no sex drive – you don't want this at 20 years old, mate. I murdered my ass in the gym and made baby steps. Learn from my mistakes." Yet there's nothing to stop teenagers ignoring this advice. This presents a dilemma for those in authority, such as Govier. The legal position is that anabolic steroids are prescription-only drugs and may only be supplied by a doctor. It is not illegal to be in possession of them, but it is illegal to supply them. Although they can advise teenagers not to take steroids at all, in practice there is nothing to stop them. A pragmatic approach can be to go for a compromise and recommend that teens lay off until they have stopped growing. "Definitely no-one under the age of 21 should be using them," says Govier. "You should have been training for a minimum of four to five years before even thinking about taking steroids. The only reason I ever advise anyone to use them is if they are looking to compete. There is simply no other reason to take them. "Generally, the use of steroids is very controlled and 99% of users know about the subject, are aware of the side-effects and what they do to the body. Its the 1% that use them to get a 'quick pump' to go and beat someone up at the pub, or intimidate people at football matches, that gives the use of steroids a bad name. "But my job is to make sure that the right advice is given out and to try to steer teenagers away from steroids and on to natural supplements, at least until they are aged 21 or over." Considerable gains can be made simply by sticking to an expert-approved training schedule and increasing calorie intake from healthy foods (even amateur bodybuilders can eat up to eight protein-rich meals a day), perhaps with the addition of natural supplements, although the teenage mindset demands instant gratification of unrealistic expectations. Often, a teenager will have gone to a gym for a few months, perhaps improvising a training schedule, without changing their eating habits. After a couple of months – or even weeks – they'll be disappointed with the results and looking for a quicker solution. "Most young people new to a gym would be happy to put on a stone of muscle, but their lack of knowledge stops them making much progress," says Flaherty. "If you don't have the right diet, training and the rest, you're going nowhere, which is very disheartening. It can bring you down. "I think human nature means we would much rather buy muscle in a bottle than work hard. Steroids are very easy to lay your hands on these days. If I hadn't had access to them, I might not have taken them, but I have a lot of friends who do so the influence was there."
James Collier, a bodybuilder and nutritionist, regularly receives enquiries from youngsters via his website, MuscleTalk. In his experience, most are dissuaded from steroid use once they know about the risks and are given expert information about nutrition and weight training. Indeed, Collier believes bodybuilding can be a good way for teenagers to learn about nutrition in general, since it is a core part of the sport. "You have to make sure your diet is in check first," says Collier, who himself took up bodybuilding at 16 after being bullied at school. "You want to be eating small amounts of protein and carbohydrate supplements, but only if your diet is already good. You keep muscle mass if it's built up naturally. "Natural supplements are merely an extension of food – for instance, protein and carbohydrate supplements or meal-replacement powders." They are safe for teenagers, he says, when taken in moderation. When Flaherty stopped taking steroids, he began to eat properly and acquired a personal trainer. "I've made gains I never would have dreamed of," he says. "I don't want to appear against steroids as I think they can be used safely, but I suggest that any young person should reconsider using them. "Bodybuilding forums are great but act as a double-edged sword: on one hand they give much-needed advice; on the other, they implant the idea to start using steroids into young people's heads. "I think the use of steroids will only continue to grow. Humans will always do things that are bad for them and worry about it later. It's something we can push underground or try to make safe. "I think it can be looked at as similar to a girl having a boob job – you think it can change your life. At the time I wasn't worried or scared, but looking back I took so many risks and put my body through so much, it's something I wish I hadn't done." |
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