Men face growing pressure to use steroids as studies show increase in male body dysmorphia
CBC
Experts and parents are sounding the alarm about non-medical anabolic steroid use as posts glorifying it grow on social media.
Experts suggest it's related to a concerning rise in body dysmorphia among men.
"The pressures on young males around body ideals has increased," said Kyle Ganson, a University of Toronto assistant professor in social work who studies muscle dysmorphia, a body image-related disorder that is common among men.
"They're seeing people on social media like, 'This is what the male body should look like,' " Ganson said. "Basically, you perceive yourself to be smaller or less muscular than you actually are."
As non-medical steroid sales happen on the black market and online, it is difficult to track usage. But several studies suggest muscle dysmorphia is on the rise, and seems to be inspiring steroid use.
A recent study in the U.K. found that nearly a quarter of men rarely or never feel body confident, and young men between the ages of 18 and 24 were the most likely to try steroids. In Australia, one study found social media use is fuelling rising anabolic steroid usage among men and adolescent boys, while a government drug use survey found non-medical anabolic steroid use has tripled.
Today, an ideal male body type is often considered lean, muscular and toned with a V-shaped torso, says Ganson.
That means men aren't necessarily striving to bulk up like Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Instead, they might use anabolic steroids, such as Anavar, Testosterone, or Trenbolone, to achieve a cut or toned look faster.
And there are risks. While many people use steroids without suffering side effects, there are several associated with anabolic steroids, including keloid scarring, premature baldness, mood swings, severe depression, organ failure — even heart attacks or strokes.
"They can really affect almost every system of the body, cardiovascular or neurological, endocrine," said Ganson.
Anabolic steroids are a controlled drug in Canada and illegal without a prescription. And yet, they are shockingly easy to access. CBC News found nearly a dozen websites that sell steroids directly to consumers seemingly without requiring a prescription — and they ship across the country.
Andy has been using anabolic steroids himself for nearly 10 years. CBC News has agreed not to use his real name because he is worried about job prospects.
"When I was 21, I just wanted to be as big as possible," said Andy, now 30.
He buys his steroids online.
Today, six climate agencies from around the world all confirmed what we knew was coming: Earth once again experienced its hottest year on record.
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
Being able to speak Inuktitut on Hockey Night in Canada is like a dream come true for Pujjuut Kusugak.
For Edward Chou, a first-year biochemistry student at the University of Guelph, the symptoms began shortly after lunch on Monday.
Some Indigenous people reacted to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's announcement this week that he would resign once the Liberals select a successor by praising him for his commitment to reconciliation, but others are pointing to unkept promises.
Mélanie Bouchard tries to bring her 13-year-old son everywhere, but car troubles coupled with the cost of an adapted vehicle to fit his wheelchair has left the single mom of four with few options.
One of the oldest public arts funders in North America hired its first Indigenous chief executive officer late last year.
The news caught retired Ottawa police investigator Randy Wisker by surprise.
A day after CBC revealed that a self-styled Vancouver Island "childbirth activist" was under police investigation, a manslaughter charge has been sworn against Gloria Lemay in relation to the death of a newborn last January.
Barry Blanchard, an alpinist and mountain guide who lives in Canmore, Alta., was among 88 people appointed to the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest honours, late last year.
The Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday that a U.S. patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu has died, the country's first death from an outbreak of the virus that has sickened dozens of people and millions of poultry and cattle.
A new book chronicles the experiences of Northern Indigenous people at residential schools with a particular look at Grollier Hall and Stringer Hall in Inuvik, N.W.T.
New research shows the rate of myopia among children and teens worldwide has tripled over the past three decades, with a particularly steep increase noted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Halton Healthcare and Conservation Halton announced in early December they were partnering with a B.C.-based foundation to offer nature prescriptions to patients for free access to the local conservation areas.
A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a "dinosaur highway" and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday.
It was a feat of determination, said Christina Lennox, who re-created a 1930s photo of their great-grandmother using 87,000 beads.
Michael Cheena says he gets emotional when he reads the names of the 18 residential schools that operated in Ontario on a monument in Spirit Garden in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square. He attended two of them.
Every year, we get to experience not only the wonders of the sky, but also missions to space that expand our knowledge of our universe.