GYMS are full of people determined to stick to their New Year’s resolution – but a rising number are taking steroids as a short-cut to the dream body.
UKAD, the organisation responsible for protecting UK sports from doping, believes more than a million people are using anabolic steroids, a synthetic testosterone that sees users quickly “bulk up” and improve their athletic performance.
Demand for the drug, which can be injected, taken via a pill or applied using cream, has soared 20 per cent in a decade.
And a National IPED info survey, which looks into the use of image and performance-enhancing drugs, found 56 per cent of users take steroids for cosmetic reasons.
Last year an online questionnaire of more than 500 male gym users by healthcare firm Medichecks revealed 75 per cent of respondents had considered steroid use.
It found that 96 per cent of those polled were unhappy with their bodies and 61 per cent wanted to be bigger.
The so-called “Love Island effect” has helped drive the rise, especially among young men who want to have the same muscular physiques as the reality show’s male contestants.
Today Sun on Sunday doctor Jeff Foster warns that those taking steroids are playing a deadly game with their health.
He says boys can end up infertile, while women, who are increasingly taking them as well, can end up developing male sexual characteristics — which can never be reversed.
He said: “People are more likely to start taking steroids in January — mainly men between late teens and early 30s who are largely influenced by the effects of social media.
“When I started going to the gym 25 years ago, steroids were used by extreme bodybuilders or athletes and the loners at the back of a car park.
“Now, they are readily available, and the numbers using them are absolutely enormous.”
Here, Jeff explains what to look out for.
Anabolic steroids are class-C drugs, which can only be issued by pharmacists with a prescription. They help people to bulk up quickly and easily.
If you are super-fit and healthy, and have a really good diet, and exercise really well, you will be able to put on a couple of kilos of muscle every six months to a year.
So it will take you around eight to ten years to reach the peak of what your body might naturally achieve.
Steroids can shorten that time massively.
They mimic natural hormones, especially testosterone. But we don’t need extra testosterone in our bodies, or too much of it.
Taking steroids can become a dangerous drug habit.
They could end up becoming infertile as well as being hit by other lifelong problems.
Men naturally increase levels of testosterone until they are 30 and you shouldn’t play around with that natural process with steroids.
If you do, you can disrupt your testicles producing their own natural testosterone. To put it bluntly, your balls don’t have to do it any more so they pack up.
And there’s no guarantee that when you come off the steroids they will work again.
Men may also develop erectile dysfunction, grow breasts, lose their hair and increase their risk of heart disease, stroke and blood clots.
Female fitness, bodybuilding and regimes such as CrossFit are increasing in popularity and we are seeing more women taking steroids.
They can get the muscle but also start to take on the secondary sexual characteristics of a guy — facial hair, a squaring of the jaw and the masculinisation of their other features including a broader chest.
They also can lose hair on their head but gain it on their face and body, develop acne and lose their breasts.
There are two things to look for. Is their body changing too fast?
It takes years to gain quality muscle and most men naturally peak in their mid 30s. It is virtually impossible for a skinny man to become hugely muscled within months without drug assistance.
And secondly, how big is their body? There is a natural limit to muscle size.
In some men their sheer size makes it obvious that this was not achieved naturally.
Steroid rage is a bit of a myth. There isn’t much evidence that testosterone causes it unless someone is using very, very high levels.
Steroids are not classed as addictive but their effects on how it makes you feel can be.
Many steroid users get a feeling of elation and satisfaction in their appearance.
Stopping the drugs makes them return to normal, which can be depressing.
Protein supplements have been subject to numerous clinical and scientific testing with no adverse side-effects and are used by professional athletes from footballers to swimmers.
They improve fat-free muscle mass over several weeks through resistance training.
There is also good evidence that creatine monohydrate is a safe supplement for the majority of the population.
But there is, of course, no substitute for a good diet, proper safe exercise regime, rest, and plenty of sleep.
