A new study conducted by Marla Eisenberg of the University of Minnesota shows that roughly 5% of high school and middle school students have used anabolic steroids in order to put on muscle mass.
The study surveyed 2,700 youths enrolled in either middle school or high school in St. Paul Minnesota.
“We’ve got some young people and in some cases pretty young, young people — we’re looking at middle schoolers — who say they are using some of these pretty risky substances in order to increase their muscularity,” Eisenberg said. “And that’s something we need to be paying attention to.”
Asians were particularly likely to resort to using steroids- as much as 4 times as likely.
The researchers added:
“Rather than being driven by a particular school sports team coach or other features of a school’s social landscape, this diffusion suggests that muscle-enhancing behaviors are widespread and influenced by factors beyond school, likely encompassing social and cultural variables such as media messages and social norms of behavior more broadly.”
