According to researchers at the University of Minnesota, sports participation with real or perceived weight requirements, such as ballet, wrestling, and gymnastics is strongly associated with unhealthy weight control behaviors and steroid use in teenagers.

The growing popularity of steroids is concerning doping and government authorities that are urging consumers not to make use of steroids.

From Sciencedaily.com:

Steroid use was reported in 6.8 percent of females who reported participating in weight-related sports, compared to 2.3 percent of those that weren’t active in a weight-related sport. Vomiting and using laxatives were also more likely in girls who were active in weight-related sports.

“The link between unhealthy weight-control behaviors and weight-related sports, especially in boys, is alarming,” said Marla Eisenberg, Sc.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School Department of Pediatrics. “Parents and coaches should emphasize skill and talent instead of weight and body image and educate teens about the negative health effects of steroid use and extreme weight control.”

Researchers surveyed over 4,500 middle and high school students from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. The students were asked if they had engaged in self-induced vomiting, used diet pills or laxatives, or used steroids within the previous week and year.

This research was published in an issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.