SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SAY 10 PERCENT OF FELLOW ATHLETES USE ANABOLIC STEROIDS, BUT ONLY 1 PERCENT ADMIT USAGE, LA84 FOUNDATION STUDY FINDS

--Majority support drug testing for anabolic steroids-

--Twenty-three percent of male participants have used muscle-building dietary supplements-

LOS ANGELES - November 13, 2007 - Only 1 percent of Southern California high school students report using anabolic steroids themselves, but claim 10 percent of athletes at their school and 10 percent to 25 percent of students on competing teams use the banned substance, according to a new study by the LA84 Foundation.

"While it's not at all unusual for athletes to assume that their opponents have an unfair advantage, it was somewhat surprising that the perception of use at their own school was so great," says study author Dr. Gary A. Green, MD, clinical professor at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, researcher at the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory and a nationally known expert on performance-enhancing drugs. "I think the truth about how many Southern California high school students use anabolic steroids probably lies somewhere in the middle."

He noted that the 1 percent self-reporting usage rate was lower than some previous national studies but consistent with other studies across several different age groups.

"The use of performance-enhancing drugs in youth sports is a central concern of LA84 Foundation. They have no place in sports. Taking anabolic steroids is cheating and involves serious health risks," says Anita L. DeFrantz, president of LA84 Foundation that promotes youth sports throughout Southern California. "Information about the long-range health and psychological impacts of drug use by young people is an important theme in our youth sports coaching education program. We funded this study to learn more about anabolic steroid use among Southern California high school athletes and athletes' attitudes towards performance-enhancing drugs."

Participating in the online survey were 252 students who represent 11 sports and 12 schools from the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section comprising Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. Fifty-three percent of the respondents are male and 47 percent are female.

Twenty-three percent of male athletes surveyed have used muscle-building dietary supplements. "This is worrisome because the use of muscle-building dietary supplements is a risk factor of later anabolic steroid use," says Dr. Green. "In my experience, users often begin with muscle-building supplements and graduate to anabolic steroids when the supplements fail to deliver expected gains in muscle."

Another major finding of the study was that 67 percent of students support high school drug testing for anabolic steroids. Only 9 percent of students felt such testing would be a violation of their rights. Eighty-two percent of students surveyed felt testing makes sports fairer and 70 percent agreed that it would be good for their sports. Sixty-five percent said drug testing would make them want to avoid anabolic steroids and 60 percent said drug testing would reduce anabolic steroid use.

Attitudes among the participating students towards anabolic steroid use were overwhelmingly negative. Ninety percent disagreed with the statement that it is okay to try anabolic steroids once or twice and only 3 percent stated that it was okay to use anabolic steroids to get a college scholarship.

Dr. Green believes school administrations should take a multidisciplinary approach to fighting anabolic steroids use, including both drug testing, education about the health effects of these substances and ethical decision-making training. Currently, Florida, Texas and New Jersey have implemented drug testing programs in high schools. The California State Legislature and other states are debating the merit of doing so.

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About LA84 Foundation: LA84 Foundation was established to manage Southern California's share of the surplus from the highly successful 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The foundation received $93 million at its inception and, since then, has invested $169 million in sports programs serving more than two million youth in the eight Southern California counties of Los Angeles, Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Its headquarters is located in the historic Britt House near downtown Los Angeles where it houses the world's premier sports library and meeting facilities. The Foundation convenes numerous forums for the exploration of the most pressing issues in sport. For additional information, please visit www.LA84Foundation.org.

About Dr. Green: Dr. Green has served as a team physician for intercollegiate athletes at UCLA and is currently the team physician for Pepperdine University. He also has been the medical director of the UCLA Intercollegiate Drug Testing program since 1989 and in that role has extensive experience counseling athletes. He chaired the NCAA Drug Testing Committee for six years and serves on the United States Anti-Doping Agency's Review Board. Dr. Green currently maintains a clinical practice at the Pacific Palisades Medical Group.