What types of performance-enhancing drugs are there?
There are no true conventional categories of performance-enhancing drugs, but if you had to think about what they are, there would be dietary supplements and drugs that require a prescription, which include steroids. Then there would be peptides, or protein-like chemicals, like growth hormone.
There are other substances that don't really fit into a category that may or may not require a prescription. They are designer compounds because they have been manipulated so that they're not easily detected.
Who uses performance-enhancing drugs?
Performance-enhancing drugs are used by athletes: competitive athletes, recreational athletes, casual athletes and people who just exercise and want to do well, even if it's just running on the treadmill in the gym. There are also those who want to lose weight or burn off fat and increase their muscle mass for cosmetic reasons. They might be children, teenagers or young adults. It could also be the elderly.
How many people use these drugs?
The statistics for usage are derived from surveys, casual questionnaires and retrospective studies of data. There hasn't been a properly designed scientific study yet, so the answer is that experts have no idea what the magnitude of this problem is.
What are anabolic steroids and how do they work?
Steroids are a class of compounds made by the adrenal gland, as well as reproductive organs in the body. Examples of steroids include testosterone, a male hormone, and estrogen, a female hormone.
