Psychological Factors Surrounding Diet, Exercise, and Steroid Abuse Kyle Murray

The Goal To establish a connection between psychological issues and steroid abuse. Diet and exercise habits were also discussed in the research. The following factors were shown to affect habits surrounding diet, exercise, and steroid abuse.

Overview (The issues at hand) Self-esteem Body Image Overweight psychology Underweight psychology Dependency Education

Self Esteem Found to be at the root of the issues surrounding exercise habits and steroid abuse. The lowest levels of self esteem are found in the overweight population Having low levels of self esteem leads to steroid abuse in an effort to improve physique Body Image is the major factor

Body Image Body Image is defined as an intellectual or idealized image of what one's body is or should be like. Body Image is affected in large by the media. The media creates a mold of how both men and women should look in society

Body Image (continued) When people try to fit this mold, it is common that steroid abuse takes place and that eating disorders in women become more prevalent. Body Image can be separated into two groups; Overweight and Underweight.

Overweight The overweight population experiences much lower levels of self-esteem and self-acceptance. Men typically do not diet to lose weight. This is the reason that eating disorders are rare in the male population. Men use exercise as their main form of weight control In an effort to lose weight, many men will turn to steroids to aid in the process.

Underweight The underweight population has similar diet and exercise habits as the overweight group. They have normal levels of self-esteem and self- acceptance, however feel as if they are smaller and weaker than average. Those under the average weight for height ratio have much higher rates in steroid abuse. They may feel as if they are less muscular and smaller than they actually are

Underweight (continued) This is often diagnosed as Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder MDD is defined as: People who obsess about being too small and frail and undeveloped. Even if they have good muscle mass, they believe their muscles are inadequate. This relates to the media’s “perfect” body image. Those under the average weight for height ratio turn to steroids in order to gain excess muscle mass.

Dependency Will an athlete become addicted to steroids after using them? According to the article “Symptoms and Correlates of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Dependence”, 94 percent of the subjects who were tested exhibited at least one factor of dependence. 57 percent of their population showed three or more symptoms of dependency. 84 percent of the subjects tested also showed withdrawal symptoms

Dependency (continued) The withdrawal symptoms found were “depressive in nature” and include fatigue, depressed mood, restlessness, anorexia, insomnia, decreased libido, headaches, poor body image, and a desire to take more steroids.

Teenagers Teenagers are at much higher risk because they are uninformed, or choose to be uniformed of the risks involved with steroids. This is a predominately male issue in the teen population. Teens have been reported as believing that steroids are helping their physique and health. “Body Image and Steroid Use in Male Bodybuilders” referenced a study that found 86 percent of teen steroid users reporting that they did not intend to stop using and that 93 percent of users stated that starting steroid use was a good decision.

What can we conclude? Through research we can conclude that the issues of: Self-esteem Body Image Overweight Psychology Underweight Psychology All play a significant role in whether or not someone will begin steroid abuse. We can also conclude that once a person begins steroid abuse they are at high risk of becoming dependant and that due to lack of information, Teenagers are at the highest risk of developing steroid abuse patterns.