Huge Numbers Of Steroid Abusers At Injection Centres: "Bigorexia" Labelled An "Epidemic"

Unprecedented numbers of Aussie men are turning towards steroid use; Experts think the trend indicates growing rates of muscle dysmorphia, or "bigorexia".

The Daily Telegraph reports there has been a 70 per cent increase in the use of performance and image enhancing drugs over the space of three years in Western Sydney.

One out of every three people at Western Sydney's needle exchange program are using steroids, despite the program initially being designated to help curb the spread of disease among heroin addicts.

The figures put steroid users ahead of heroin abusers in terms of the drugs reported last injected at the needle exchanges, also putting it on par with ice addicts.

One of the leading causes of increased steroid use, according to the Daily Telegraph, is image-conscious young men desperate to "bulk up".

Bigorexia has been called the reverse version of anorexia, and it happens (mostly) to men who believe they're too frail, leading them to the injection of steroids and mental suffering.

Extreme dieting and purging increased more rapidly among males than females between 1998 to 2008, and is only continuing to escalate.

Sydney University has conducted research into men's body image issues and eating disorders, finding that they're four times more likely than females to go undiagnosed.

I think some people fail to include 'bigorexia' under body dysmorphic disorder not too much written on the subject

— Health/Finance (@5talentsGerson) August 7, 2016

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Dr Scott Griffiths from Canberra University said many steroid users are blind to the risks that they're taking. "They don't see themselves as injecting drug users, they say they really care about their health," he said.

Steroid binges, like any other drug binge, can lead to serious health problems. Common side effects can include: baldness, acne, jaundice, aggression, development of breasts, high cholesterol and reduced sperm count. It can also lead to heart failure, liver damage, liver cancer and diabetes.

Some red flags to watch out for can include obsessively working out at the expense of all other social activities, obsessively watching what you and other people around you are eating and worrying that your muscles are tiny when they're, most likely, normal.

If you're concerned at all about drugs or going through a difficult time, visit ReachOut.

Photo: iStock