Started as a resolution in 1994 by Senator Bod Dole, the purpose of Men's Health Week is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.

Do Something decided to take this week to focus on the increasing problem of steroid use among teenage male athletes.

Steroid use has been getting extensive media attention recently with numerous baseball figures including Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez testing positive or confessing to having used performance enhancing drugs (PED). But there is another type of steroid use that is proliferating among young men and boys as young as twelve that has many concerned.

These guys are using ‘roids to excel at competitive sports and also to achieve that beautifully toned, bulked-up, superhero-like body so prominent in print ads, like Beckham’s Armani spread.

Ken Adams*, 22, a self-confessed former jock, says, “Young athletes also idolize professionals, and since you can’t turn on the TV without hearing about another athlete testing positive for PED, they assume they are safe and that it’s not a big deal.”

Ken says that being an athlete in high school steroids “were around and more or less readily available if needed.” Athletes turned to them because they “are a quick fix and the results you get from them are far superior to those gained from strictly working hard. The problem with that is these guys are not using them properly nor are they looking into the side effects of the drugs.”

Read the entire article here.

Want to do something about steroid use?

• Organize a community seminar to teach people about the warning signs and effects of steroid use.
• Buddy a team player with a younger student to provide support and extra pointers.