Study Shows Typical Steroid User is “Average Joe”
Posted October 17, 2007 at 10:20 AM by Lisa Cieplechowicz
Section: In The News, His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health
Though the mainstream media and recent current events would have us believe that steroid use is largely connected to athletes trying to up their game or risk-seeking adolescents wanting to fit in, a new study confirms that such conclusions are actually inaccurate. As CBS News reports, the reality is that steroid users often blend in with the “Average Joe.”
The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition recently published a study of approximately 2,000 men that indicates that the average anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) user is a white-collar, well-educated, 30 year old Caucasian male who is motivated by the desire to build muscle and strength and increase his physical attractiveness. Injury prevention, recreational weightlifting, increased endurance, amateur bodybuilding, amateur/recreational sports, and power lifting were surprisingly cited as “rarely endorsed motives.”
The study also notes that anabolic-steroid users are notably different from abusers of other types of drugs (i.e. heroine, cocaine). While users of psychoactive drugs are associated with spontaneous and erratic behavior, steroid users are often characterized by their use of strategic planning to maximize benefit and reduce risks of harm. For instance, the study’s findings indicated that for the majority of anabolic steroid users, carefully planned cycles of use and non-use were strictly abided by in order to allow the body to recover and avoid negative side effects. Furthermore, though injection was the most common form of steroid-intake, the results showed that sharing and reusing needles was rare and the use of clean needles was practiced by a large majority. In other words, as Dr. Daniel Gwartney- one of he study’s authors - points out: “The notions of spontaneous drug seeking and loss of control do not apply to the vast majority of AAS users.”
These findings also bring to light the need to rethink and restructure current policies surrounding steroid abuse. It is clear that the focus of drug-testing on competitive athletes and adolescents leaves out the significant population of steroid-users that do not fall into these categories. In addition, chastising sports figures guilty of steroid use or reminding society of the shame cheating brings to its members will do little to dissuade most AAS users. Rather, more attention needs to be paid to the true motivating factors for steroid use in order to develop proper strategies to fight against such risky behavior.
Rick Collins, co-author to the study, commented: “Effective public policy should begin by accurately identifying who’s using steroids and why. We hope our research—the largest adult survey of non-medical AAS use we know of—is a significant step forward in that direction.”
Research sources and for more information: [Medical News Today], [CBS News], [Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition]




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