In today’s “bigger, better, faster, stronger” sports culture, one trap I often see young male teens fall into is the misconception that what’s being done in collegiate or professional sports must also be OK at the high-school level. What’s even more alarming is that teenagers and even their parents are turning to their local nutrition supplement store for advice on supplements and their unproven and misleading claims that their product(s) provide athletes the “performance edge” they’re desperately seeking. I’m here to tell you nothing could be further from the truth, and here’s why:
Regulation. Unlike medications that are available via prescription, supplements like Creatine and others marketed as “testosterone boosters” are considered “dietary health aids.” That means they aren’t subject to the rigors of study required or the regulations imposed by the Food and Drug Administration — so there’s no governing body overseeing exactly what’s in these supplements or ensuring their labels are entirely factual in their representation of the product. In addition, a recent study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that the majority of sales attendants at health food stores would either sell or recommend Creatine or other “enhancers” to research personnel posing as 15-year-old athlete shoppers — even though the labels on the products clearly state that they are not intended for persons under 18 years of age.
[See: How to Know If You’re Exercising Too Much.]
Potential for muscle damage. Of course, there’s the fact that Creatine and other booster/enhancer products aren’t intended for teen use by the manufacturers who make them, and thus their effects have not been studied in teenage populations. But beyond that, there’s the medical truth that teen bodies are still growing — rapidly. This means that a teenager’s muscles and tendons are already stretching against bones that are growing fast, and they’re already being taxed. Taking supplements like Creatine that are intended to stretch and tax them further is a recipe for disaster. From muscle strains to pulled ligaments and worse, the perceived benefit of “getting bigger” among teens is not worth the potential orthopedic harm. What’s the point of bulking up only to unnecessarily but seriously pull a muscle and get sidelined for the rest of the season?
[See: 7 Surprising Things That Age You.]
Dosage and side effects. No offense to the teens who may be reading this, but if you’re a parent of one, you know that the tasks of daily living are things they’re still trying to master. Can we really expect that if a health store sells Creatine to a 15-year-old, he or she is diligently going to follow the dosing instructions? More likely, teens will take more than the intended dose in hopes that bigger, better, stronger will happen faster. We know that some of the side effects, even when taking the intended dose, can include weight gain (not necessarily muscle gain), diarrhea, abdominal pain and muscle cramps. Those side effects can become much more serious when the “recommended dosage” is altered.
[See: 5 Unintended Consequences of Eating Too Much Protein.]
If you have a teenager who is playing a competitive sport, talk to him or her about the dangers of supplement usage. If they’re serious about ways to enhance their performance, go together to talk to a doctor and their coach about diet and exercise programs that can help achieve the desired result, without the potentially harmful effects of supplementation. It will be worth the time.
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Teens and Sports Supplements: What’s the Problem? originally appeared on usnews.com
