MEMBER NOTE: ACSM responded today to the latest issue
involving steroid use in sports. The news release follows for your
information.
Communications and
Public Information
Telephone:
National Center
(317) 637-9200 ext.127
or 117
Fax (317) 634-7817
American College
of Sports Medicine
P.O. Box 1440
Indianapolis, IN
46206-1440
STEROIDS THREATEN HEALTH OF ATHLETES AND
INTEGRITY OF SPORTS PERFORMANCE
American College of Sports Medicine Calls for Increased
Vigilance in Identifying and Eradicating Steroid Use
INDIANAPOLIS – The American College of Sports Medicine
(ACSM) today condemned the development and use of new
“designer” steroids. ACSM considers chemicals, such as the
recently identified Tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG, developed
and cloaked to avoid detection by doping tests, as serious
threats to the health and safety of athletes, as well as
detriments to the principle of fair play in sports. Any effort to
veil or disguise steroid use in sports through stealth, designer,
or precursor means, puts elite, amateur and even recreational
athletes at risk.
The health risks associated with steroid use are
severe. Anabolic steroid use has been implicated in early
heart disease, including sudden death, the increase of bad
cholesterol profiles (increased LDL, lower HDL), an increase
in tendon injuries, liver tumors, testicular atrophy,
gynecomastia (abnormal enlargement of breasts in males),
male pattern baldness, severe acne, premature closure of
growth plates in adolescents, emotional disturbances and
other significant health risks. The health risks of designer
steroids compared to or beyond symptoms of anabolic steroid
use are currently unknown.
“No one knows the extent of this yet,” said Gary I. Wadler,
M.D., FACSM. “If there is one great concern that THG has
exposed, it’s the potential that other non-detectable anabolic
steroids may be in the pipeline. The scientific and public
health implications of this issue are quite
disconcerting.” Wadler, an ACSM sports medicine physician
who serves on the Health, Medical and Research Committee
of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and is a leading
international authority on doping in sports, says the
appearance of these new drugs and their use models
dangerous behavior, potentially causing physical and
psychological damage to young athletes.
ACSM calls for national compliance with the United States
Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) regulations and to the World
Anti-doping Code. Further, the College stresses the need for
“clean” athletes, those not taking performance-enhancing
drugs or supplements, to publicly deplore the use of steroids
among their teammates and peers. ACSM underscores the
critical leadership role clean athletes can take in disavowing
performance-enhancing drug use and advocating fair play to
protect the integrity of sports competition. Other individuals
who influence young athletes, such as parents and coaches,
should establish a no-tolerance policy for performanceenhancing substances, and intervene whenever necessary.
In the past 20 years, sports governing bodies have made
substantial efforts to eradicate steroid use. Drug testing
implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association,
for example, has been instrumental in decreasing the use of
steroids among college athletes. Last year, ACSM called for
mandatory testing for steroid use in Major League
Baseball. (ACSM’s Position Stand, “The Use of AnabolicAndrogenic Steroids in Sports,” ACSM condemns the use of
these drugs among athletes. To read a copy of this Position
Stand, please visit http://www.acsm-msse.org). Yet,
information gathered very recently, over just the past few
years, indicates an upward trend in steroid use among
amateur athletes at the college and even high school levels.
ACSM will conduct a national news teleconference, Friday,
October 24, 2003 to address the issues of athlete health, the
importance of fair play, and the call for increased vigilance on
the part of athletes, coaches, parents, and others.
The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports
medicine and exercise science organization in the
world. More than 20,000 International, National, and
Regional members are dedicated to advancing and
integrating scientific research to provide educational and
practical applications of exercise science and sports
medicine.
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may not be read. For more information, please contact ACSM at (317) 637-9200.