Christian Doc Hopes Steroids' Bad Press Will Deter Youth
by Mary Rettig
April 14, 2005
(AgapePress) - The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a statement admonishing doctors, coaches, and parents to keep kids away from performance-enhancing steroids. And one resident physician at Wake Forest University thinks this is a good policy.Dr. Carl Wierks, a Christian Medical and Dental Associations member, is hopeful that the recent rash of sports stars coming out publicly against steroids will help keep more young people from using the illegal substances. He notes that steroids have been getting a lot of bad press lately, from the coverage of certain shadows hanging over the last Olympics to the recent Congressional hearings that compelled testimony from several Major League baseball players.
For one recent example, Wierks refers to baseball player Jose Canseco's many media appearances of late (publicizing his newly published sports exposé Juiced), and the athlete's "coming out and talking about the prevalence" of steroid use in professional sports. Canseco is just one of several pros who have, willingly or otherwise, come under close scrutiny since the steroid use scandal began to escalate.
"All along, it's painted in a negative light," Wierks observes, "and I think that kids tend to want to emulate their idols -- [perhaps particularly] their sports idols." And now that kids are seeing the Major League sports establishment enforce the rules and regulations against steroids, kids are watching more and more of their favorite players distance themselves from the illegal and potentially harmful drugs.
The Wake Forest physician feels this is important because many times kids do not realize the health-adverse and possibly even lethal effects that steroids can have. "For instance, the long-term risks of using steroids include things such as liver damage and liver cancer, elevated blood pressure, and heart disease," the doctor says.
Wierks agrees with the American Academy of Pediatrics that coaches, doctors, and parents should do everything they can to keep kids away from steroids. He hopes more and more professional sports figures will likewise use their influence to encourage kids to stay away from the dangerous and illicit performance enhancers.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
