July 1, 2005

Steroid Use Continues To Increase Among High School Athletes

• According to a 2004 Study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 3.2% of 12th grade boys admit to using steroids in the past year.
• Data tracked by the Youth Risk and Behavior Surveillance System at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1999 to 2003 show the percentage of male high school students who reported that they had taken steroids jumped 65% from 3.7% to 6.1%. The rise in use among female students is even more alarming. In 1999, 2.2% of female students reportedly used steroids. Four years later that figure was 5.3%, and increase of 140%.
• A University of Michigan study reports that 3.5% of high school seniors admitted to using steroids in 2003, up from a mere 2.1% in 1991. That's a 67% increase since 1991 and a 17% increase since 1999.

Warning Signs:

• Large gain of muscle mass over a short period of time (20lbs. of muscle gained over a summer by a high school athlete is usually not the result of weight training alone)
• Increased time spent in the gym and a preoccupation with weight training
• Dramatic changes in personality (moodiness, aggression, and hostility etc.)
• Abnormally large breasts in males (gynecomastia)
• Stretch marks (cultaneous striae), especially around the breast area
• Increased acne, especially on the back, face, and chest
• Facial puffiness due to water retention
• Needle marks on the buttocks
• Increased blood pressure and heart rate

So what can be done to curb this trend?

According to Jeff Rutstein, a reformed steroid addict and author of The Steroid Deceit: A Body Worth Dying For?, it has to start at the top:

"When a child sees an admired professional athlete using steroids without repercussions, it diminishes whatever warnings that child might hear about the drugs. Thus, we must hold our professional athletes accountable."

Jeff has this message for students:

"Students have to realize that the effects of steroids don't last. Once they get off the drug, within a very short period, all the strength and muscular gains will be lost. This creates a vicious cycle because they'll want to take larger quantities, creating a never-ending journey for some. They have to think about the long-term consequences and realize that doing steroids is cheating and just a short term fix."

Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D., professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has this to say about Jeff Rutstein's desire to educate young people about steroids: "Jeff takes us behind the veneer of muscles and gives us a personal look at the insidious hold that steroids had on his life. I would strongly recommend The Steroid Deceit: A Body Worth Dying For? to any young person who is using steroids or considering using them, and to parents worried that their children might be using steroids"

The Steroid Deceit: A Body Worth Dying For?, by Jeff Rutstein, Publisher: Custom Fitness, ISBN: 0-9760170-2-4, US $12.95, paperback 108 pages. Available on the Web, through local bookstores, and major distributors or from the author at: www.steroiddeceit.com. For author interviews contact Jeff Rutstein at 1-800-374-9959 or pub@customfitness.com.