The human body is art. Many people in today's world train daily and commit themselves to perfecting the art of the human body and sculpting every one of their muscles to be seen the way that society has deemed perfect. Though the idea of a "fit" body is no new trend. The idea of a perfect looking human has been created by artist and weightlifter alike and has stayed constant throughout history. The ideal human body could be described as physically fit with a more than average muscle tone. This idea is exhibited by artist Michelangelo's sixteenth century sculpture of biblical hero, David, although David is does not have bulging muscles he has an above average looking male physique. The statue of David would lose its elegance if the body of David were portrayed as flabby and soft; instead the ideal image of a man, even five hundred years ago, was very lean and muscular. For centuries many people have been obsessed with building the ideal body so humans created gyms and weights where people can train day after day to eventually achieve the look that they crave. Humans even became so obsessed with the ideal body that we decided to create a competition in which a group of judges decide who has the best looking body out of a group of men or women; this is called a Bodybuilding competition. 

Through advances in science over the years, many people today have turned to unnatural substances in order to achieve the look of the ideal human physique. The use of performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids and human growth hormones are extremely common in the sport of Body Building today. Performance enhancing drugs are more commonly taken in the sport of Body Building than any other sport due to the effect that certain drugs have on muscle growth and muscle recovery time. The unnatural substances in performance enhancing drugs can have very negative effects on the human body and greatly affect the natural processes of the human body. The use of anabolic steroids in the sport of body building should be prohibited due to health risks and dangerous side effects, and the addictive nature of the drug.

The debate of whether or not the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormones should be used by competitors in the sport of body building is of great controversy at this time has been for many decades in the body building industry. The two sides of the issue at hand are those in favor of performance enhancing drugs in the sport of bodybuilding and those in opposition of performance enhancing drugs in the sport of body building. Two examples of common ground that these two sides of the argument share are that both sides want to see the sport of body building flourish and both sides find the sport meaningful to society as a whole in some way. The main point that the two sides of this argument disagree upon is the main argument itself of whether or not performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in the sport of body building. Those in favor of performance enhancing drugs in the sport of bodybuilding believe that anabolic steroids and human growth hormones are simply how competitors play the game. Whereas on the contrasting side of the argument, those in opposition of performance enhancers, see the performance enhancers as more than just a part of the game but rather an unnatural advantage and a health risk to those taking the drugs directly.

Many who choose to partake in the use of performance enhancing drugs do so unknowing of the negative effects of the drugs. Bodybuilders commonly abuse performance enhancing drugs such as the most common, anabolic steroids, without knowing all of the possible side effects of abusing the drug. In the article "Positive Effects of Steroids" author Mack LeMouse states that "Among other things the positive effects of steroids include increased muscle mass, tissue repair, endurance and fat loss," one thing that this article chooses to overlook when stating that steroids positively increase muscle mass is that the human heart, the motor of the human body itself, is indeed a muscle (LeMouse). Therefore when LeMouse states that anabolic steroids increase muscle mass this includes the heart, and an enlarged heart can lead to much greater problems than not having large bulging muscles. Later the article states that "someone who is on steroids will experience increased physical performance in all sports and athletic pursuits and will also appear more physically imposing," and although I agree that a steroid user would look more physically imposing to the everyday human, stating that steroids will increase performance in all sports and athletic pursuits is simply just not true (LeMouse). The simple act of gaining muscle mass and endurance cannot increase one's ability to play a particular sport; there is no drug that can increase someone's natural hand eye coordination and giftedness to play a sport. Later the author writes, "as testosterone is the 'male' hormone, it can help with many traits generally associated with 'maleness'," and the "maleness" traits are later defined in the article as lowering of the voice, increase in testosterone, and increase in hair growth (LeMouse). I do agree that steroids can do these things, although if a completely healthy male is taking steroids in order to increase his hair growth or lower his voice then there could be other negative side effects to his "manhood" such as the shrinking of the testicles which would not only be a negative effect but it would almost be the opposite of the initial goal in taking the steroids.

Contrary to popular belief; advanced muscle growth is not the only side effect that has been linked to anabolic steroid use. In a study conducted in 2014 by the Journal of Surgical Pathology, a scientist named Badr AbdullGafar MD wrote an article about a study that was conducted on nine separate male patients who had used either anabolic steroids or other human growth hormones and the medical effects that the use of these substances had on their bodies. From the nine male subjects that were studied in this case, six of them were using performance enhancement substances in order to gain muscle for physical appearance, or in order to "bulk" for bodybuilding purposes. Of the six patients who were using the performance enhancers in order to gain muscle and size, three of them were injecting anabolic steroids, two of them were injecting silicon, and one of them was using an unknown substance. Of the three individuals who were injecting anabolic steroids, two of them experienced abscess at the injection site, which is a swollen area within body tissue. The third individual who used anabolic steroids refused to have a follow up and his diagnoses could not be determined. Of the two individuals who used a performance enhancer other than anabolic steroids, silicon, both of them experienced soft-tissue tumors. Out of these six individuals, every one of them experienced negative medical side effects ranging from abscess to tumors found on organs and near the injection site. In order to prevent performance enhancing drugs from ruining the well-being of many men and women, husbands and wives, or fathers and mothers, the International Federation of Body Building needs to regulate performance enhancing drugs and ensure that the drug is being used safely and properly under proper doctor's supervision or that the drug is banned from the sport altogether. 

There are many medical issues involving steroids. In the article "Medical Issues Associated with Anabolic Steroid Use: Are They Exaggerated?" the "Journal of Sports Science and Medicine" discusses the many medical issues involving anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. This article breaks the medical issues of anabolic steroids into seven major groups. The groups of medical issues with anabolic steroids range from "Cardiovascular System" issues to "Psychological and Behavioral" issues. The many health risks of using performance enhancing drugs are one the reasons that the use of drugs should be prohibited in the sport body building. The article "Medical Issues Associated with Anabolic Steroid Use: Are They Exaggerated?" is an article that expresses the medical issues and side effects of using anabolic steroids. This article breaks the medical issues of anabolic steroids into seven major groups. The groups of medical issues with anabolic steroids range from "Cardiovascular System" issues to "Psychological and Behavioral" issues. This article gives steady facts on what anabolic steroid use can do to the human body. This is an informative source on effects of anabolic steroids with no bias involved. This source is written by the "Journal of Sports Science and Medicine" from the "US National Library of Medicine National institutes of Health" which supports the credibility that it is an unbiased source. The article "Arnold Schwarzenegger: Steroids Give Same Advantage as a Suntan in Bodybuilding" is an article that discusses, great body builder, Arnold Schwarzenegger's newest book "Total Recall". This article breaks down the points in the book where Arnold discusses his steroid use during his years as a professional body builder. This article talks about how the athletes of body building today are using up to twenty times the dosage of steroids that he used during his career. The article states that Arnold Schwarzenegger is now working to ban drugs from the sport of professional body building. This article is biased because it does not give facts but rather a stance against steroids.

An ex-bodybuilder wrote an article about just how common performance enhancing drug use is in today's sport of body building. In this article, the author David Robson, an active martial artist, bodybuilder, sports scientist, and accredited personal trainer, expresses how in today's world of body building using drugs is simply how one plays the game. Robson writes about how in order for one to achieve the fame and fortune that comes with being successful in body building that using human growth hormones and anabolic steroids are simply stepping stones to get there. Robson writes that the men and women who choose to compete in professional body building will do simply anything to win, even if that includes utilizing harmful drugs. Later in the article the author states that the consistent use of anabolic steroids has led to early deaths of some previous body builders. Robson states that although there have been deaths in the past that there have not been many deaths and few see great changes in health; in fact Robson states that the side effects of individuals using and/or abusing anabolic steroids are nothing greater than the side effects of individuals abusing alcohol or tobacco. The author ends this article with a dialogue of a side by side interview of an IFBB (International federation of Body Building) professional athlete (who was kept anonymous) and a top athlete in Natural Body Building, Anthony Catanzaro.

The US Department of Justice has an online government document informing people of the dangers of anabolic steroid use. This is source is an informative document issued by the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration: Office of Diversion Control. This online document is meant to inform people about what anabolic and androgenic steroids actually are, why people choose to use and abuse them, and how these drugs affect the human body both positively and negatively. The first four categories of information in this document are meant to simply inform people who may not know much about the subject of steroids about the subject of steroids. The first four categories include introduction knowledge like that "anabolic steroids are synthetically produced variants of the naturally occurring male hormone testosterone", why people choose to use steroids, where people attain steroids, and finally how steroids are consumed by the user "including intramuscular or subcutaneous injection, by mouth, pellet implantation under the skin and by application to the skin (e.g. gels or patches), these same routes are used for purposes of abusing steroids, with injection and oral administration being the most common". The next four categories of information in this document are meant to inform people who now (after reading the first four categories) have a base knowledge of steroids about the possible side effects of steroids which include physical and psychological dangers. Note that this source uses the word "dangers" in the title "Physical and Psychological Dangers" which could point to a hint of bias in the construction of this source. The four categories that discuss the side effects of steroids include a list of physical side effects and a list of psychological side effects. Physical side effects include "High blood cholesterol levels  --  high blood cholesterol levels may lead to cardiovascular problems". The next section of this document discusses the laws and penalties for anabolic steroid abuse. The laws and restrictions section is followed by the final three sections which include healthy alternatives to steroids, whether or not steroids are addictive, and how to curtail the issue of steroid abuse.

One of the most common addictive substances in the world today is tobacco. Tobacco contains a stimulant called nicotine, when nicotine enters the blood stream the body releases a chemical called dopamine, "Dopamine is the chemical that mediates pleasure in the brain. It is released during pleasurable situations and stimulates one to seek out the pleasurable activity or occupation," (Ananya). The simple feeling of pleasure caused in the human mind can cause people to become heavily addicted to terrible substances that do terrible things to their bodies, things that over time could easily kill them. Take smoking for example, smoking contains nicotine which causes the release of dopamine in the brain creating the sense of pleasure, this sense of pleasure can be so addicting that people will virtually kill themselves by doing the activity that causes pleasure. 

The act of achieving goals and seeing results from actions induces a sense of great pleasure in the human mind. Therefore when a person begins lifting weights and exercising frequently he or she may begin seeing results and that may cause them to train harder and longer in order to see more results, until they have reached their physical limit. When a person training to be physically fit reaches his or her physical limit is typically the time when he or she will begin experimenting with performance enhancing drugs. Due to the positive physical changes in the body the person exercising feels pleasure, therefore when the person exercising looks at themselves and is pleased with what they see then dopamine is released in the brain and once this chemical is released in the brain then the body will do whatever it takes to bring back the chemical. Therefore even a person in great physical condition may resort to performance enhancing drugs in order to be more and more pleased with the way that his or her body looks to them. In this sense the physical changes that occur due to the effects of performance enhancing drugs, such as muscle growth and fat loss, can be highly addictive and cause body builders to abuse performance enhancing drugs which, as stated earlier, has very many negative effects on the human body. 

The use of anabolic steroids in the sport of body building should be prohibited due to health risks and dangerous side effects, and the addictive nature of the drug. There are so many health risks in taking performance enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids and human growth hormones that it simply does not make sense for the government to allow the National Federation of Bodybuilding to knowingly allow its competitors to use and abuse performance enhancing drugs. Not only are these drugs very bad for the human body but the effects can also be highly addictive and due to all of the health risks in performance enhancing drugs they are a very dangerous substance to also be addictive. The government should not allow a drug that is illegal to have outside of the prescription of a doctor to be used recreationally for entertainment's sake while the publically funded host of the Bodybuilding events know that the competitors are breaking the law. Due to the negative effects, addictive nature, and the illegality of performance enhancing drugs, these substances should be completely prohibited in the sport of Bodybuilding. 
