Originally published August 6 2005
Teens bulk up their bodies with supplements and hormones
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
In the largest study to date on adolescents' views of their bodies and their use of hormones and supplements, one in eight boys and one in 12 girls reported using such products in the past year to improve their appearance, muscle mass or strength.
Getting a sculpted look is a goal for many U.S. teens _ and while some are using dangerous supplements to get it, sizable numbers of girls and boys are engaging in more healthy strength-training, a survey found.
Protein shakes and powders were the most commonly used, but teens also listed steroids, growth hormone, amino acids and other potentially unhealthful products among those they'd tried in the previous year.
With obesity on the rise, it's encouraging on the one hand that many teens try to look fit, said lead author Alison Fields, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
But there's "a fine line" between fighting obesity and using potentially unhealthy methods to achieve potentially unrealistic goals, she said.
Field said the large numbers of youngsters thinking about getting toned or actively trying to achieve the look suggests at least some likely have unrealistic expectations about how their bodies can or should look.
Dr. Eric Small, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' sports medicine and fitness committee, said he suspects supplement use was underreported, since other studies have suggested that teens' use of steroids alone is more prevalent.
"Everyone wants a quick fix" but lifestyle changes are generally more effective, Small said, adding that teens should seek healthy lifestyles rather than trying to emulate a certain look.
The study was based on a 1999 survey conducted by Field and colleagues of 10,449 12- to 18-year-olds whose mothers were participating in a Harvard-affiliated study of nurses' health.
Boys who read men's, fashion or fitness magazines and girls who said they wanted to look like famous women were more likely than other youngsters surveyed to use supplements to enhance their physique.
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