Transcript Diet, Exercise, and Steroid Use

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 selfacceptance, 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.