However, there are a group of steroid users in America who start entirely too early. They begin using steroids as early at 14 years old. Some choose to use for sports purposes. They may have an older brother or friend with access to, or experience in, anabolic steroids, and they may wish to be more competitive in high school sports. With the advent of college sports (and many athletes being drafted for professional sports directly out of high school), more and more high school athletes are considering the use of steroids to perform better at sports.

Also, there is a group that uses steroids simply for vanity purposes. They wish to be muscular, but don’t devote the required time in the gym or follow simple nutrition requirements. They take the shortcut, but end up short-circuiting their body’s hormone production levels for life so they can reach a bodyweight of 180. It’s a sad phenomenon, and all too common, especially given the ability for many of these children to obtain steroids using the Internet.

For youths who choose to take steroids, the side effects can be many. During puberty, steroid use can cause a great deal of damage. The bones are not done growing – but they stop growing shortly after their first steroid cycle. Additionally, their testosterone levels are already ridiculously high. To add synthetic hormones to the mix causes such normal teenage side effects such as acne to suddenly become unmanageable. Additionally, there are a bevy of side effects including damage to sexual reproduction organs, hair loss, and liver damage. Before age 20, the body is still growing. To introduce steroids into that growth causes many ill side effects. Many side effects – and the extent to which they occur – may still be unknown, as teenage steroid users are very unlikely to self-report on their illegal abuses.

For bodybuilders and power lifters in their mid-20s, the risks of steroid use are well known. If you choose to use at this age to spurn growth that you are no longer experiencing, that is your choice. You are an adult and free to make your own decisions as to what risks to endure in order to see continued growth. For teenage lifters, there should be no debate whatsoever. Steroid use at that age can have terrible side effects, and can cause a lifetime of heartache for a level of muscle already attainable at that age (thanks to elevated testosterone levels) with correct training and diet.

Dane Fletcher is the world’s most prolific bodybuilding and fitness expert and is currently the executive editor for BodybuildingToday.com. If you are looking for more bodybuilding tips or information on weight training, or supplementation, please visit www.BodybuildingToday.com, the bodybuilding and fitness authority site with hundreds of articles available FREE to help you meet your goals.

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