Drugs and doping in sports usually make headlines when famous athletes are caught as drug cheats. Or remember the headlines in the mid-2010s when Russia was revealed to be the organizer of systematic, state-sponsored doping?
But during Clean Sports Week (11-17 May), representatives of the UK Anti-Doping Association (UKAD) warned of serious health risks for people who are not necessarily aiming for Olympic gold but just love the sport and stay fit.
UKAD chief executive Jane Rumble says the agency is particularly concerned about one type of IPED, known as Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators.
Jane Rumble, CEO of UKAD, said: sky sports A survey commissioned by the agency found that a third of adolescents, young athletes and athletes aged 16 to 25 have been exposed to online misinformation promoting image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs) after seeing them advertised or promoted on social media.
UKAD is particularly concerned about the way certain types of IPEDs, known as selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), are promoted as a ‘safer’ alternative to anabolic steroids.
“We are deeply concerned about misinformation online regarding performance-enhancing drugs, particularly SARMs,” Rumble told Sky Sports.
“These products are not approved for human consumption and are banned from sports, but there is information online promoting them as a safer alternative to steroids.
“None of them are approved for human consumption. The idea was that they would support muscle growth and bone structure, but none of them were approved because clinical trials revealed serious health risks associated with these products.
“In fact, the risks I’m talking about are not only loss of libido, but also heart inflammation, liver damage and failure. These can be life-threatening.”
The UKAD survey of more than 1,000 young people aged 16 to 25 also found that influential people were concerned about their tendency to share misinformation.
42% of young people surveyed said they had seen ‘superhuman’ or ‘shortcut results’ content on social media at least once a week in the past 30 days. 19% reported viewing this content several times a week or daily.
“We’re worried about people going to the gym and sports fans,” Rumble said.
“What we are doing is getting the message out about these serious health risks to understand the spread and true severity of the problem.
“Young people aged 16 to 25 say they are being exposed to this content promoting SARMs as safer than steroids – at least once a week. Four in 10 said they have seen this content more than once a week. This content is also being marketed as a shortcut or (it) a superhuman effect. We are here to raise awareness, not only among young people but also with their parents.”
UKAD’s concerns are deepening and this year’s Clean Sport Week includes the tagline ‘Unbought’.
“We are emphasizing, ‘Inform yourself. Don’t swallow the lies about these products.’ We are also commissioning further research, which will be published later this year and will show how widespread this misinformation is.”
