When we think of steroid use, the first thing that comes to mind are professional sports players who use steroids to gain an edge on their opponents. Instead, according to a new report issued by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, the average American steroid user is a white male around age 30 who's educated, earns an above average income, and is not particularly athletic. In fact, the report revealed that most men abused steroids in order to look better.

"In total, our findings belie the images of (steroid) users as mostly risk-taking teenagers, cheating athletes, and a group akin to traditional drug abusers," said Jack Darkes of the University of South Florida, Tampa, and co-investigators.

Researchers recruited 1955 male steroid users for the study from websites dedicated to strength training and muscle-enhancing substances, mass emails, and print media. The men thus completed surveys on their background, lifestyle habits, and history of their steroid use.

The study found that on average, steroid users were 31 years old, and three-quarters were college graduates. Most of the men had "white collar" jobs and relatively high incomes. When asked about their motivation for using steroids, the majority said that they wanted to increase their muscle mass, strength, and physical attractiveness.

A mere 6% said that their steroid use was driven by bodybuilding or sports. Most of those surveyed said that they had never been involved in organized sports, not even in high school.

Results of the study suggest that the majority of efforts to prevent steroid use, which have thus far been focused mainly on young athletes, are not on target. Researchers pointed out that steroid abuse has held steady, if not increased in the US. They add that this may be related to the fact that the largest segment of steroid abuses are adult non-athletes who have been "virtually invisible."