Fitness training and working on a body are becoming more and more popular. In the meantime, it has become a trend that is constantly reinforced by platforms such as Instagram or Facebook.
Basically, not a bad thing when young people are motivated to do sports. But the wrong ideal image on social media platforms also has a downside. In order to achieve maximum results as quickly as possible, more and more athletes are using steroids. Not only competitive athletes are affected, but also hobby athletes and people who simply want to look better and more muscular.
What are steroids?
The meaning of the term “steroids” changes depending on the context in which it is used. Steroids also include cholesterol, vitamin D, bile acids, sex hormones and adrenal cortex hormones. In the medical sense, the term “steroids” covers drugs based on various corticosteroids. In sports doping, however, steroids are understood as a group of chemical compounds that have the ability to control anabolism of the body and which are professionally called anabolic steroids. Corticosteroids are used in many areas of medicine. Most often in dermatology, allergology, rheumatology and neurology. These drugs are prescription-only, so their use is controlled by the doctor. The situation is different with anabolic steroids, because their availability is easy and the effects of abuse are very dangerous.
According to the World Antidoping Agency (WADA), approximately 5 million people consume about 700 tons of anabolic steroids annually. Many are unaware of the dangers of anabolic steroids.
Some physical changes that can occur include hair loss, testicular shrinkage, liver problems, voice changes, heart attacks or strokes. Steroids also have a psychological effect on the body. These include consequences such as irritability, mood swings, violence and a lack of concentration.
Steroids can also quickly lead to dependence, which is usually psychological.
Many people are therefore undergoing therapy to treat the consequences of long-term use.
The funds are procured via the black market, which is flourishing in this area. The sale and purchase of anabolic steroids or similar substances is prohibited in many countries. One of them is Germany. As there is a lot of money to be made in this industry in Germany, this ban is circumvented and the substances, which were mostly produced in China or Thailand, are smuggled into Germany via Eastern European countries. Some interesting facts about Anabolics and appropriate legal alternatives reports the Blog muskelaufbau-turbo.de
The majority of customers are of course sportsmen and athletes. However, sales are driven even more by “normal” gym visitors who do everything they can to steel their bodies.
Due to the high profits and comparatively low risk, many criminal organizations have discovered this area for themselves.
Steroids in sport are a serious problem in today’s society. Due to the fitness mania in the social networks there are more and more people who are not satisfied with their body and are willing to do everything for a better appearance. Steroid consumption is represented in every age group and is not limited to competitive athletes.
Many consumers are not aware of the consequences or do not care, because they subordinate everything to a fast muscle build-up. Therefore, a lot still needs to be done in prevention work to train public awareness of how harmful steroids can be for humans. Above all, because enormous results can be achieved without such means – with the right training and nutrition.
Anabolics – disappointed hopes of medicine
At the end of the 1940s, the properties of steroids were tried in patients with extremely wasted organisms. It was believed that natural anabolic steroid administration would increase the muscle mass of patients, improve their appetite and thus quickly recover, but the side effects were much worse than the disease. Also, attempts to administer anabolic steroids to people with anorexia, who wanted to increase their appetite and gain weight faster, did not yield the expected results. The idea of anabolic steroids treatment was abandoned. However, testosterone is an exception. It is used to accelerate the sexual development of boys in whom this development is significantly delayed. Occasionally, the hormone is also given for some bone destructive cancers, such as myeloma. The same is the case with growth rate disorders in children. Since anabolic steroids, especially testosterone, increase mood, their use in terminally ill people is increasingly considered to improve their quality of life.