Men and Steroid Use

Steroid Use

At a recent Young Men’s Network meeting in Bristol, I had a discussion with Deborah Hussey from The Bristol Drugs Project. Deb described to us how they were seeing a rising trend of men attending their needle exchange service. Many of these men were young men under the age of 25 who were seeking needles for steroid use. This led many of us to consider the causes of this, as well as the risks, and what we could do about it going forward.

A Rising Trend Amongst Young Men

Deb’s experience is not isolated. Reports indicate that over 1 million people are taking anabolic steroids in the UK. Men as young as 13 are taking performance enhancing drugs. Across the nation, young men were four times more likely to take steroids in the year 2017 compared to 2016, rising from 0.1% of all 16-24 year-olds, to 0.4%, an extra 19,000 young people.

There are many risks to steroid use and the increase in numbers is a worrying trend. The main worry is due to the reasons young men say they are taking steroids, and the way they are taking them.

What’s The Problem?

Deborah is seeing a growing number of under 25s accessing their service, possibly, in part, due to peer normalization of steroid use, and notes that the potential side effects of using steroids at this age could be significant. Our main concerns as we spoke were around the physical and mental health impacts of steroid use on these young men.

Normalisation

Normalisation occurs when the popularity of casually acquired, self-administered steroid use is increases in a young man’s friendship circle. This leads to a higher chance of that young man using steroids without seeking expert medical advice, because his friends are doing it. Here, the young man gains access to steroids on the internet, or from their local gym buddy or friend. This unregulated, self-administering of steroids can lead to more risk, which can lead to physical and mental health issues. Also, levels of steroid use become tied to the norms of young man’s social circle, and not medically sound advice. This can have dangerous consequences.

“In some ways young men have been catching up with young women over the last few years, they are more sensitive and vigilant about how they should look and this is becoming more acute.

I think it is to do with appearance and masculinity, and the messages we absorb through social media.”

— Ian Hamilton, Lecturer at University of York

culture & Image

The way in which our culture portrays the male physique and masculinity can impact the way in which young men relate to themselves, each other, and their bodies. Social media and popular TV shows, like Love Island, are putting increasing pressure on young men to present with certain body types. Indeed, around half of those reporting steroid use (56%) confirmed that their aim was to improve body image, according to a report from Public Health Wales.

A complex problem here is the problem of muscle dysmorphia. Here, the young man is preoccupied with the perception that their muscles are excessively small, despite the reality that they are not. This can lead to many complex and damaging behaviours, such as steroid abuse, over-exercising, and disordered eating.

Lots more research is needed in this area, as there are some indications that steroid use may increase the likelihood of developing muscle dysmorphia.

steroid use & physical health

This issue is particularly important when talking about young men, as steroid use impacts many areas of physical and psychological development, including: growth, fertility, and mental health.

The following is important to keep in mind:

• Steroids can increase acne and accelerated balding.

• They can also lead to sexual dysfunction, and mood changes.

• The risk of serious illnesses increases, such as cardiac, metabolic, neurologic, and musculoskeletal disorders.

• Steroid use can lead to testicular atrophy. In the Wales survey alone, more than half of male participants reported testicular atrophy.

• Too much testosterone can lead the body to over-produce oestrogen, leading to “feminisation”.

• Methods of injection used can also increase risks. Here the high rates of reusing injecting equipment or sharing multi-dose vials amongst young men can increase the risk of HIV, as well as Hepatitis B and C. .

• Over half (54%) of people taking steroids are sourcing the substances from friends, meaning the safety of the substance itself is unknown.

What Now? We Need Your Help!

To begin, we want to be able to at least educate young men on the dangers of steroids, and share information on how to reduce the risks as much as possible, by designing and implementing a free class or online guide on the risks of steroid use and how to reduce them.

Of course, you can share this article if you’d like to get the basics out there right now! Use the links below!

As part of this campaign, we’d also like to help young men move away from the focus on looking a certain way, which can feed into muscle dysmorphia. Instead, we’d like to help shift the attention towards achieving realistic goals, and the development of positive character traits, like commitment, perseverance, self-care, patience, and hard work. Also, we’d like to emphasise and encourage natural, healthy alternatives to steroid use when it comes to muscle-building.

In order to do this, we need as many services, organisations, and online influencers as possible to come together and help us acquire funding and/or spread the word to young men through a targeted campaign.

If you or your organisation would be interested in collaborating, funding, or advising please let me know by filling in the form below:

If you have any feedback on the above article or would like to comment, please use the replies below, or let me know by tagging me on the following social networks:

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How do you think we should tackle the issue of steroid use amongst men, and young men in particular?

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