Organization Says Teens More At Risk For Using PEDs

FirstCoastNews.com

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/article/301475/3/Teens-more-at-risk-to-be-involved-in-doping

According to the World Health Organization, over the past ten years, the use of performance-enhancing drugs, or “doping,” has trickled down from professional sports to high school sports and even into recreational use. It could even be sold in your local nutrition store, which means your teen could be at risk.

Tony Iaquinto, the president of local health organization Commit to be Fit, said the message being sent to teens is clear.

“They’re looking at magazines. They’re looking at athletes that support these products, and somehow they get lost in the minutiae of that and it was geared for adults and not them.”

Products like pills for diet and weight-loss or powders meant to help users gain weight, energy or endurance. Products like “jack3d,” the workout booster at the center of a lawsuit after the deaths of two soldiers who used it back in 2011.
The FDA issued a warning to manufacturers saying the stimulant — called dimethylamylamine, or DMAA — can raise blood pressure and heart rate, and could lead to heart attacks.

Sports medicine physician Dr. Wesley Mills said many times, teens don’t know what they’re taking.

“They just know they’re advertised or touted to build muscle mass or increase your strength, but when we look and see, we’re not even sure if it does that, but it’s possible it’ll cause a lot of the side effects.”