Medical Science, Volume 10, Number 39, July 23, 2014
EISSN 2321 – 7367
OPINION • GENERAL MEDICINE
Medical Science
ISSN 2321 – 7359
The International Weekly Journal for Medicine
Artificial athletes: The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak Muhammad Hassan Khan, Atta Abbas҉ Faculty of Pharmacy, Ziauddin University, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan ҉
Corresponding Author: Atta Abbas, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ziauddin University, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan; Tel: +92-321-2643077; Email:
[email protected] Publication History Received: 13 June 2014 Accepted: 12 July 2014 Published: 23 July 2014 Citation Muhammad Hassan Khan, Atta Abbas. Artificial athletes: The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Medical Science, 2014, 10(39), 82-83
ABSTRACT There is no question regarding the importance of healthy sports in quality health promotion and health care advisers stress upon the need to indulge in sports. Professional sports environments bends the law as some athletes indulge in steroid use to increase performance. This practice is also noticeable and a growing concern among the new generation not for the sake of health concern but for improvement in persona. Steroid abuse brings its own problems rendering an abuser vulnerable. It does increase the artificial musculature but do not help in health outcomes thereby making artificial athletes of whom the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! Keywords: Athletes, Sports, Steroids Medical Abbreviations: LH - Luteinizing hormone; FSH - Follicle stimulating hormone; HTH - Hypertension
1. INTRODUCTION
Muhammad Hassan Khan and Atta Abbas, Artificial athletes: The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, Medical Science, 2014, 10(39), 82-83, http://www.discovery.org.in/md.htm
www.discovery.org.in © 2014 discovery publication. All rights reserved
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physical activity such as obesity and mental health such as depression can be resolved if an individual indulges in any sort of sports. Sport is a kind of focused physical activity coupled with leisure which requires muscular coordination, neural coordination and alertness aimed at improving the overall health of an individual.
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The importance of sports is undoubted for maintaining physical and mental health. Major clinical problems regarding
2. DISCUSSION In case of professional athletes, they need to be perfect in their respective sport to rule the roost. But sometimes, the quest for being the mister or miss perfect to cut a dash requires bending the law i.e. ignoring the ethics. For instance, nowadays the trend among weight trainers and body builder athletes is the use of medications to increase their strength, stamina, indefatigability and power of endurance, which indeed is against the natural body growth thereby rendering them artificial, In this case, particularly the use anabolic steroids by the athletes is controversial. Some adolescents and adults use anabolic steroids to increase the musculature of the body; a pre-requisite requirement of some sports like body building, wrestling etc. and these days it is used more often to promote aesthetic looks and persona. Use of steroids by an individual with or without pre-requisite medical advice comes with a tossup. Application of anabolic steroids leads to supra-physiological concentrations of testosterone or its derivatives in males. Prolong use of anabolic steroids in relatively high doses leads to hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism with decrease serum concentration of LH, FSH and testosterone. In the normal female body an increase in circulating androgens will inhibit the production and release of LH and FSH, resulting in a decline in serum levels of LH, FSH, estrogens and progesterone (Encyclopedia of Sports and Medicine). Regularly engaged with the use anabolic steroids causes potentially hazardous medical conditions such as high blood pressure resulting in HTN or heart attacks, reduced sperm count, breast development, increased risk of developing prostate cancer, splayed teeth and overgrowth of the forehead in men. In females, features such as facial and body hair growth, loss of breasts, swelling of the clitoris and problems with menstrual cycles are evident. Some psychological effects are also associated with the misuse of these drugs other than the therapeutic use which are aggressive behavior, mood swings, mania, hallucinations and delusions (NHS Choice).
3. CONCLUSION Sports and physical activities are to assist, promote and facilitate the good health among individuals but the use of performance enhancing agents such as anabolic steroids are more likely to risk the lives of athletes by making them artificial. For good health sports are necessary but to be good in sports medications are not a requirement. There is no need to bend the law to cut the dash. Let the growth be natural otherwise artificiality would yield the spirit willing but the flesh weak.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS The authors declare no conflict of interests exists.
REFERENCES 1.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/anabolic-steroid-abuse/ Pages/Introduction.aspx
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2.
Encyclopedia of Sports and Medicine. [homepage on internet]. Anabolic Steroids. [online]. [accessed 2014 July]. Available from: http://www.sportsci.org/encyc/anabst ereff/anabstereff.html NHS Choice. [homepage on internet]. Anabolic steroid misuse. [online]. [accessed 2014 July]. Available from:
Muhammad Hassan Khan and Atta Abbas, Artificial athletes: The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, Medical Science, 2014, 10(39), 82-83, http://www.discovery.org.in/md.htm
www.discovery.org.in © 2014 discovery publication. All rights reserved
