Steroids....the word conjures up images of Ben Johnson from the Olympic Games, cheating his way to the Olympic gold medal......it conjures up the the vision of needles been inserted into the body, creating muscle bound freaks. Its backed by  the media led click bait reporting to demonize a selection of drugs that only lead to rages of anger, domestic violence and suicidal tendances. Is this a true reflection, to the most part it is but it isn't the full story, its the story the media wants you to believe to sell papers. 

So what are steroids? The NHS classifies steroids has performance enhancing drugs that increase muscle mass and decrease fat. They also state that they have many undesirable effects. 

They are a Class C drug which can only be issued by pharmacists with a prescription. However they are not illegal to possess for personal use and can be imported from abroad. However it is a class of drugs that are illegal to sell.

Steroids are man made compounds which illicit changes in muscle mass, bone density and can increase fat loss, but ultimately they are, in the sporting world used as a performance enhancing compound. All sports have had athletes who even though clear rules exist used steroids. 

So why the stigma? Its simple PEDs have always been and always will be associated with cheating....a way of winning against your opponent with an unfair advantage. My first memory of this was Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Olympics where he blitzed the field to win the golden race of any Olympics, the 100m. It subsequently ended his career, but the media pounced and every headline was about cheating, making him out to be the devil. So why did he do it? In his words "to put me level with every one else". Guess what he may have had a point.....Carl Lewis the golden boy of American athletics tested positive for three banned stimulants before the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, but by pure magic he was able to get a medical exception for the use and later in his career Linford Christie was banned for using Nandrolone......so your top three from 88 all have black marks against their names but only one was destroyed by the media. 

PED use is in every sport and we have seen it with Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin etc but lets stay on topic and talk about the Saturday Night Party Drug.

Why Saturday Night Party Drug? Its an interesting title considering we are talking about performance enhancing drugs. Straight to mind you may be thinking but what performance do I need to improve on a Saturday night.....well its not performance, its how we look, especially amongst young men. 

In the most recent data I could find the UK Anti Doping Agency claimed that there are around one million regular steroid users in the Uk 2nd July 2022. Its an estimate because in a world where its use is so darkened by the media, you will never get a true picture. However collected data from Public Health England and Wales in 2017/18 does back up that information. 

Within the 2017/18  survey over 50% of respondents said that they took the drugs for cosmetic reasons, influenced by social media, film stars and sporting heroes. Also within this over 40% took the drugs for bodybuilding / gym purposes which in effect would go hand in hand with improving body image. 

The main age of the respondents was aged 20 - 40, which by social standards is the main population who live for the weekend and want to impress the opposite sex. 

It is a big worry and it is with respect to males, yet again, a brushed under the carpet topic, much like mental health. Forever we talk about body positivity amongst females and how unrealistic body image is impacting on female mental health and wellness, but very rarely will we talk about it with males. 

Its also a big worry because often with anything that is demonized people don't know where to go for advise on the subject and make misinformed choices leading down a rabbit hole of health risks and substance abuse. Men at age 20 should not need any form of PEDs. Naturally they will be at the peak of body growth, testosterone release etc and should be able with the right direction achieve realistic body goals and we should be educating through gyms, boxing clubs, football clubs etc to ensure the next generation isn't impacted. 

The biggest miseducation is the lack of knowledge that young people receive regarding what steroids do.....they are not one hit wonders....take this and you will achieve your goals. This is far from the truth and this is where training correctly and eating the right nutritional foods should be the forefront of any information we give to young men and young women. 

But I feel that there is even more to worry about! Steroids are often blamed for a multiple of negative side effects from physical problems such has heart disease, liver failure etc to mental problems such as violence and suicide. Is this true? Yes to a part but the same survey that I used also highlights the increased use of cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamine amongst the same age groups......its a cocktail of death, a ticking time bomb for a generation of youngsters and together with the steroids we can highlight the real problem. 

The media will always glorify an article for click bait....you've read the articles "Bodybuilder Dies of Steroid Abuse" but they very rarely lead in with the true picture and already the public image of steroid abuse is justified. One such example is from 2021 in the Manchester Evening News.....the headline, "Bodybuilder with history of steroid use died from heart failure, inquest hears". There you have it the headline says it all, steroids, but when you actually look deeper into the cause of death the individual had high levels of alcohol, cocaine and Sildenafil in his system. This wasn't just steroids but a multiple of drugs both legal and illegal that were abused. But the media focusses on one. You will very rarely see them demonize alcohol in the same way as steroids, yet alcohol leads to aggressive behaviours, hate crime, domestic violence, suicide, addiction and every health complication that steroids have. But we accept that because its legal and part of a social culture. It also takes much more public money to manage with the cost of alcohol related crime at 11.4 billion. 

TRT....a positive outcome! We already know that steroids are demonized but there is an avenue in which testosterone can be used safely and effectively especially for men 40 years and above. This is through TRT and is an ever expanding industry that like HRT for women is improving the health and well being of males worldwide. I will talk more about this in the future.

So what is the way forward? First and foremost we need to educate the young generation through every possible avenue around steroids and the use of PEDs. This should be done in gyms and sporting clubs nationwide and people should be signposted as to where to get the best advise.  We need to acknowledge the body image problems young males have from social media and why they turn to PEDs in the first place. Allowing males to talk about these issues and giving informed advise will be a massive step forward and along with mental health will help massively with long term health and wellness.  01/09