According to a national survey published in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the use of steroids in girls is not merely restricted to competitive athletics but also extends to smoking and diet pills.

According to assessments made on anabolic steroids by Diane L. Elliot, M.D., of the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, and colleagues, the trends of steroid use in girls is on a rampant high as found by a study that involved 7,544 female students in grades nine through 12 completing the survey.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Adolescent girls reporting anabolic steroid use had significantly more other health-harming behaviors,” they continue. “They were much more likely to use other unhealthy substances, including past 30-day use of cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.” Young female steroid users were also more likely to:

* have had sexual intercourse before age 13
* have been pregnant
* drink and drive or have ridden with a drinking driver
* carry a weapon
* have been in a fight on school property in the past year
* have feelings of sadness or hopelessness almost every day for at least two weeks
* have attempted suicide

More than two-thirds of the teen girls surveyed reported trying to change their weight. However, those who used steroids were more likely to turn to extreme weight-loss techniques, including vomiting and laxative use. “Anabolic steroids are body-shaping agents and cause a loss in body fat and an increase in lean tissue; therefore, their association with unhealthy weight loss practices was not surprising,” the authors write.

This study found that high-risk adolescent girls using anabolic steroids received less attention than adolescent boys suggesting that their actions may have been seen as more destructive on a personal front.

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