REVEALED: Australia’s high school boys are addicted to protein powders and steroids to impress girls with research uncovering dangerous and banned additives being smuggled into over-the-counter muscle building products
- High volume of young male teens addicted to protein powders
- Some are also using steroids in a bid to see quicker body results
- Side-effects can be fatal, some are also highly addictive
- Sport Integrity Australia scientist labelled supplements ‘a minefield’
A concerning number of high school boys in Australia are addicted to protein powders and steroids as they look for ways to impress girls and be accepted in their social circles.
It comes as research has revealed dangerous and banned additives are being smuggled into over-the-counter muscle building products across the nation – and the end result for users can be deadly.
Sport Integrity Australia [SIA] conducted the study, which showed close to half of 240 boys at a Melbourne school, aged between 14-16, were hooked on protein powders.
Ominously, almost 70 per cent of the male teens interviewed said they planned to use them.
Many of the students were also using the muscle building compound creatine – while others took steroids.
A concerning number of high school boys in Australia are addicted to protein powders and steroids as they look for ways to impress girls and be accepted in their social circles (stock image)
It comes as research has revealed dangerous and banned additives are being smuggled into over-the-counter muscle building products across the nation – and the end result for users can be deadly (pictured, a young male lifting weights)
Reasons offered for doing so included looking good in front of their peers in sporting teams and to impress young women.
A second study showed one in five nutritional products sold in Australian supermarkets were contaminated with substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The flow on effect sees impressionable teenagers taking supplements that can lead to addiction.
Alexis Cooper, SIA’s Director of Education, admitted many impressionable youngsters are experimenting with products they have limited knowledge of as it may result in quicker body results.
‘We know that unfortunately, some people will be looking for products that have banned ingredients in them because they want something that they think ‘works’, she told News Corp.
‘So they might go directly to a list of supplements that have banned ingredients and go ‘I’ll take that one and that one and that one.’
Dr Naomi Speers, the Chief Science Officer at Sport integrity Australia (SIA), labelled supplement usage ‘a minefield’.
She also pointed to the fact that without clinical trials, the side effects are not fully known, but it has already emerged that some supplements can result in liver and heart damage.
Dr Naomi Speers, the Chief Science Officer at Sport integrity Australia (SIA), labelled supplements ‘a minefield’ and can result in liver and heart damage
Many impressionable students are also using steroids in a bid to bulk up their bodies quickly
The sports nutrition industry is big business globally.
As a sector, it is tipped to rise to a $128billion by 2030, despite the potential health risks.
Athletes are also at risk, as one slip up can end a promising sporting career in an instant.
Australia’s regulating authority, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, offered a telling piece of advice – never purchase prescription medication on the black market.
‘The TGA recommends consumers obtain a prescription from an Australian doctor and only purchase their prescription medicines through a registered pharmacy,’ a TGA spokesperson said.
‘There are numerous risks consumers face when purchasing and using prescription medicines from disreputable sources. End users may run the risk of serious health issues if the goods are counterfeit, have the wrong amount of active ingredient, are contaminated with toxic ingredients, and/or contain undisclosed dangerous or illegal ingredients.’
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