We don’t often think of the problems we go through as sociological issues, but in looking at the lives of similar groups of people we can see that many of the everyday problems of average people occur on a larger basis in our country. Some are easier to spot such as unemployment, even though it affects each person laid off once the rates get to a certain point it is obvious that the rates are due to economical factors not the characteristics of each individual (Mills 1). I have found that a problem that is becoming more evident in our everyday lives is a growing us of dangerous supplements in teenage athletes.
When I was thirteen I started in my first school sport. I became a wrestler. I fell in love with the sport. As I grew older it was something that dominated my life on and off the mat. I often found myself in class wishing I was wrestling. Naturally as I became older I also became more a competitive athlete as did the rest of my friends that wrestled or played any high school sport for that matter. Talk of being a competitor at state championships or who was favored at the next match often filled the hallways. Generall
As I made it though high school and I no longer take part in the rush for the hot new supplements to make me perform better I have found that I haven’t even thought about it in a long time. At the time I didn’t even give it a second thought but now I see that supplements that are meant for short term use by grown adults or that are just plain not healthy to use for anyone are finding their way to the hands of athletes more often. The need to gain an edge and be the best drives them to do whatever it takes for them to win. I find myself relegated to telling my little brother of the dangers and hoping that these supplements will be pulled from the shelf before more harm is done.
I recently saw on the news that a pitching prospect for the Oriels, Steve Bechler, died from taking Xenadrine RFA-1. It is true that this was not the only factor , but it was defiantly a major contributor. I am familiar with this particular drug as I probably went through two hundred dollars worth in high school. The major ingredient is Ephedrine. Ephedrine is the principal extract from Ma Huang. Ephedrine is a “beta-adrenergic agonist,” which