There are many types of steroids that athletes abuse to increase muscle mass and strength. Although steroids have a negative reputation, there are some that can be beneficial for athletes and some patients. There are types of steroids called corticosteroids that have more medical uses and another type called anabolic androgenic steroids that have more limited medical use. Anabolic androgens are usually the steroids that athletes abuse (Bigelow, par.10). The use of steroids dates back to the end of World War II around the 1940s. Doctors administered anabolic androgenic steroids to life-threatening prisoners freed from Nazi concentration camps to help them regain muscle mass and weight more quickly. From this knowledge, steroids began to be used by body builders and athletes to get fitter than they already were. Steroid abuse is believed to have begun in the late 1940s by weightlifters and bodybuilders and spread to the Olympics in the 1950s (Bigelow, par.11). Any type of steroid should not be used if abuse is intended through use in large doses with the intent of increasing lean muscle mass and strength (Bigelow, par.11). After years of abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids at the Olympics, they were added to the list of banned substances and the start of random testing of athletes was announced (Bigelow, para.35). The exception to the use of steroids should only be made when they are prescribed by a doctor for medical conditions. One of the main purposes for preventing athletes from using these drugs is simply for their health benefits. Over the years there have been multiple cases where the abuse of these drugs has caused... middle of paper... there are groups out there already working on these steps, the process can't stop here. The completion of this process begins in middle families and with young people. If young people are educated they can help ensure that illegal use decreases in their time and in their future. Works Cited Basile, Maria. "Asthma." The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders. 2nd ed. 2005. Gale Opposing Views in Context. Network. February 9, 2011. Bigelow, Barbara C. “Steroids.” UXL Encyclopedia of Drugs and Addictive Substances. 2006. Gale Opposing Views in Context. Network. January 26, 2011.Jacobson, Robert. “Performance-Enhancing Drugs.” Gale Opposing views in context. Np, 2010. Web. January 28, 2011. Kuhn, Cynthia, Scott Swartzwelder, and Wilke Wilson. "The goals and risks of bulking." Gale Opposing views in context. Greenhaven Press, 2008.Web. January 28th. 2011.