Androgenic-anabolic steroids use among women: prevalence of use and intention to use among those with high-intensity functional training practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use among women has raising over years, especially due to aesthetic motivation, but performance improvement is another motivation. Since high-intensity functional training (HIFT) exhibits an intrinsic competitive aspect, we investigated the AAS use among women HIFT practitioners. Methods Using the “virtual snowball,” 291 Brazilian women HIFT practitioners answered an online survey. Results The prevalence of AAS use was 22%, but the use after the HIFT adherence was 15%. Among those who never used, 12.3% reported intention to use. Age, marital status, and time of training were significantly associated with AAS use. Aesthetics was the main motivation for use, and 59.7% reported using it on medical advice. The main motivation was aesthetics, but it seems to have a trend to change the motivation for performance improvement over aesthetics, especially among women with longer training time. Conclusion The prevalence of AAS use was high; however, it seems that HIFT adherence is not a factor raising the prevalence of AAS use among physically active women. Additionally, the motivation for AAS use among women HIFT practitioners seems to be trending toward change, increasing the motivation for performance improvement over aesthetic motivation, especially among women with longer HIFT adherence time.