Kids on steroids willing to risk it all for success

In a nation where the Super Bowl is the most-watched night on television and professional athletes in a range of sports rake in millions of dollars in salaries and endorsements, it's not hard to see why many kids grow up idolizing athletes. Some sports stars may deny they are role models for a younger generation, but a new study suggests quite the contrary.

Among students in grades 8 through 12 who admitted to using anabolic steroids in a confidential survey, 57 percent said professional athletes influenced their decision to use the drugs and 63 percent said pro athletes influenced their friends' decision to use them. Eighty percent of users — and 35 percent of non-users — said they believed steroids could help them achieve their athletic dreams.

What's more, the steroid users said they were willing to take extreme risks to reach sports stardom or other athletic goals. The survey found that 65 percent of steroid users versus 6 percent of non-users said they would be willing to use a pill or powder, including dietary supplements, if it guaranteed they would reach their athletic goals even if it may harm their health, and 57 percent of users versus 4 percent of non-users said they would take a pill or powder even if it may shorten their life.
"It's scary," says study author Jay Hoffman, chair of health and exercise science at the College of New Jersey in Ewing. "This study shows that adolescents are willing to take those risks."

The survey, conducted from 2005 to 2006, involved more than 3,200 students in 12 states, most of them from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New Mexico. Other states included Iowa, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Missouri, Ohio, Colorado, New York, Minnesota and California.

Overall, 1.6 percent of students (2.4 percent of boys and .8 percent of girls) — about 50 students in total — reported using anabolic steroids, according to results published in the January issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. That's lower than more nationally representative research, such as the government's National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which found in 2005 that 4 percent of kids in grades 9 through 12 reported steroid use.

In the new survey, steroid use increased with age, especially in boys, with almost 6 percent of 12th grade males reporting steroid use.

Some students reported using other dietary supplements to boost their game or physical appearance. Of all students surveyed, 17 percent said they had used supplements such as protein powders, creatine and amino acids to gain body mass. And 35 percent said they had used supplements such as fat burners, high-energy drinks, ephedra and caffeine pills in an attempt to lose weight. The more supplements kids took, the more likely they were to also use steroids.

The sports world has been rocked by steroid scandals in recent months. In December, for instance, the Mitchell Report implicated more than 80 professional baseball players in the use of steroids. And last fall, sprinter Marion Jones admitted to lying about steroid use and returned her five Olympic medals.

Not all kids see anything wrong with steroids in sports though. In the new survey, 57 percent of steroid users and 12 percent of non-users said they believe pro athletes have the right to use steroids. And 60 percent of users and 29 percent of non-users actually thought using anabolic steroids for athletic purposes is legal.