Studies Reveal Steroid Use by Non-Athlete Teens

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Teen Girls More Likely to Use Diet Pills
According to research, high school boys are more likely to use anabolic steroids (AS), while high school girls use more body-shaping, athletic-enhancing drugs (BSD). The same researchers found that female athletes are less likely to use BSD than female non-athletes.
To assess the use of AS and BSD by high school students, Dr. Linn Goldberg and researchers at Oregon Health and Sciences University asked students at 13 Oregon high school districts to complete a questionnaire, which indicated personal use of AS and BSD by estimating the number of times they students took the drug(s) on a continuum. In one study, the researchers analyzed the results from 2,036 females, while in another study they looked at results from 4,100 students.

According to the findings, high school students -- both athletes and non-athletes -- use anabolic steroids and body shaping drugs on a regular basis. Male athletes and non-athletes appear to be the most common users of anabolic steroids; while females are more likely to use body shaping drugs, such as amphetamines, methamphetamines, pseudoephedrine and diet pills.

Additionally, students with a higher grade-point average tend to use less drugs. Compared with non-athletes, student athletes were also less likely to use steroids, alcohol, cocaine, cigarettes, pseudoephedrine and diet pills.

"Our findings indicate an increase in anabolic steroid use among high school non-athletes, which may be one of the reasons for the national increase in steroid use among teens," explained Dr. Goldberg. "Also, while high school females use less alcohol and other drugs, they use more body-shaping and athletic-enhancing drugs than their male counterparts."

Since drug use in Oregon mirrors the national rates, Dr. Goldberg notes that these findings could mean that athletic and body shaping substances could be used by nearly two million high school students.