Last month’s congressional hearings into steroid abuse underscored the profound impact that pro athletes have on teenagers. The perception by young athletes that the success of their idols is based — even in part — on steroid use sends a negative, and sometimes fatal, message.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 500,000 high school students are using steroids and body-shaping, athletics-enhancing drugs.

The problem is not limited to those in baseball parks and athletic stadiums. Young people are using steroids and other illegal substances simply to improve their physical appearance in their search for the nearly unobtainable body ideal.

The problem has no minimum age or respect for gender. It affects non-athletes as well as pitchers and catchers. Teenage boys and girls are using these illegal drugs in growing numbers for cosmetic — not athletic — reasons and to impress the opposite sex at parties, not just on the playing field.

With illegal steroid use on the rise, it’s critical that professional sports leagues take concrete steps to promote an ideal of fair and healthy competition.

Among professional sports leagues, the National Football League has cracked down the hardest on steroids. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw and many others in pro football have been working on the NFL’s steroids policy since the late 1980s. The NFL, under then-Commissioner Pete Rozelle, became the first sports league to begin testing its players for steroids in 1987, started suspending violators in 1989 for a first positive steroid test and began a year-round, random testing program in 1990.

Under the NFL’s policy, all players are tested for drugs during training camp. During the regular reason, seven players from each team are tested at random for steroids each week. Random tests continue during the off-season. Players can be tested as many as 15 times in one year. A positive test results in an immediate four-game suspension (one-fourth of the season) without pay.

Part of the challenge in combating steroid use is that cheaters find ways to adapt to new testing regimes. Rather than showing a resistance to change, the NFL has repeatedly updated its policy to respond to new methods of abusing performance-enhancing drugs.

Last year, the league added the “designer” steroid THG to its list of banner substances. Earlier this month, the NFL and its players union agreed to follow the International Olympic Committee’s lead and implement stricter standards for testosterone levels. They also agreed to more frequent off-season tests and additional banned substances.

I have spoken several times to Commissioner Tagliabue and others in the league regarding steroid abuse and, in particular, its effect on teenagers. Combating steroids is a priority for the NFL because substance abuse threatens the fairness and integrity of the game on the field. The NFL and its players union understand that to allow the use of steroids would not only condone cheating but also compel others in the sport to use them to remain competitive.

No policy will entirely eradicate all attempts to break the rules to gain a competitive advantage. The presence of human growth hormone and other drugs currently is not detected by urine tests. The science will continue to improve, but the NFL’s drug-testing program is a model for a tough, responsive approach.

Through its ongoing commitment to combating steroids, the NFL continues to make a good-faith effort to uphold its responsibility to its young fans.

Meehan is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.