One in 20 youth has used steroids to bulk up: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - About five percent of middle and high school students have used anabolic steroids to put on muscle, according to a new study from Minnesota.

In addition to steroid use, more than one-third of boys and one-fifth of girls in the study said they had used protein powder or shakes to gain muscle mass, and between five and 10 percent used non-steroid muscle-enhancing substances, such as creatine.

Researchers said a more muscular body ideal in the media may be one factor driving teens to do anything possible to get toned, as well as pressure to perform in sports.

"Really the pressure to start using (steroids) is in high school," said Dr. Linn Goldberg, from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

"You get the influence of older teens in high school, so when you're a 14-year-old that comes in, you have 17-year-olds who are the seniors, and they can have great influence as you progress into the next stage of your athletic career."

The new data came from close to 2,800 kids and teens at 20 different middle and high schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. During the 2009-2010 school year, those students completed a survey on food and weight-related behaviors, including activities tied to muscle gain.

The majority of kids surveyed were poor or middle-class.

Almost all of them had engaged in at least one muscle-building activity in the past year, most often working out more to get stronger. But up to one-third of kids and teens used what the researchers deemed to be unhealthy means to gain muscle mass, including taking steroids and other muscle-building substances or overdoing it on protein shakes, dieting and weight-lifting.

Student-athletes were more likely than their peers to use most methods of muscle-building. Steroid use, however, was equally common among athletes and non-athletes.

According to findings published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, Asian students were three to four times more likely to have used steroids in the past year than white students. Most Asians in the study were Hmong, lead researcher Marla Eisenberg from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and her colleagues noted.

Their study shows higher adolescent use of steroids and other muscle-boosting substances than most other recent research and "is cause for concern," according to the researchers. But it's not clear whether the findings would apply to an area outside of the Twin Cities, or among wealthier students, they noted.

Makes you wonder;

a) where are they getting the money for this (survey was poor & middle class kids)

&

b) what are the percentages in OTHER parts of the country? Or in other parts of the WORLD???

I'd suspect that steroid usage in Russia probably comes close to New Jersey.

weird. how do they get steroids?????

XxAxX said:

weird. how do they get steroids?????

Probably in gym class.

If not, you can probably get them in most gyms.

I know of at least one juicer in my gym who sells.

They could develop heart failure, before they've reach middle age. Look at all of the wrestlers that have passed on because of steroid use.

Beautifulstarr123 said:

They could develop heart failure, before they've reach middle age. Look at all of the wrestlers that have passed on because of steroid use.

So you think wrestlers (ab)use steroids more than for example bodybuilders or powerlifters? Most of the pro wrestlers that passed away were on a combination of alcohol, recreational drugs, pain killers and steroids.

There's a contest in which the participants compete for Mr Olympia title. Being Mr Olympia means you're the best bodybuilder in the world. It's no secret bodybuilders use a shitload of roids. Up until a week or so ago all of the Mr O winners were still alive. Sergio Oliva was the first Mr O to pass away. He died at the age of 71.

PurpleJedi said:

Makes you wonder;

a) where are they getting the money for this (survey was poor & middle class kids)

&

b) what are the percentages in OTHER parts of the country? Or in other parts of the WORLD???

I'd suspect that steroid usage in Russia probably comes close to New Jersey.

A - roids are cheap. Consuming the right amount of food will cost more than the actual cycle. Beginners can easily gain 12 to 18 lbs of lean mass on a winstrol cycle which is available for about $100 for 6 weeks.

B - numbers are even higher if you include everyone using all sorts of fat burners like T3/T4, ephedrine HCl, DNP etc etc.