Shouldn’t we be
Concerned about Performance-Enhancing Substances?
Tommy Boone, PhD, MPH, FASEP, EPC
Professor and Chair
Director, Exercise Physiology Laboratories
Department of Exercise Physiology
The College
of St. Scholastica
Duluth, MN
55811
“…the intentional use of any substance for
performance
enhancement is unfair and, therefore, morally and ethically
indefensible.” – American
Academy of
Pediatrics
Recently, I read the American Academy
of Pediatrics’ April 2005 “Policy Statement” on the use of
performance-enhancing
substances.” The Academy [1, page 2]
condemns the use of the substances and “…vigorously endorses efforts to
eliminate their use among children and adolescents.”
Shouldn’t the American Society of Exercise
Physiologists do the same? Pediatricians
are concerned that young people are using performance-enhancing
substances. They are concerned about the
potential for adverse health consequences.
And, they are concerned about the use of
performance-enhancing
substances on the moral development in young people.
Shouldn’t exercise physiologists be
concerned, too? From my perspective,
there are very few exercise physiologists who condemn the use of
performance-enhancing substances and even fewer exercise physiologists
express
concern over the use of performance-enhancing substances on the moral
development of young people.
Shouldn’t exercise
physiologists be concerned about any
substance [1, p. 6] that “…benefits sports performance by increasing
strength,
power, speed, or endurance or by altering body weight or body
composition?” The American Academy
of Pediatrics is concerned. That’s
why
the Academy published 11 recommendations to strongly discourage the use
of
performance-enhancing substances. Just
think, the Academy is an organization of 60,000 primary care
pediatricians,
primary medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists
dedicated to
the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and
young
adults [2]. Shouldn’t the American
Society of Exercise Physiologists follow the Academy’s lead?
The Sports Medicine Program at Children’s
Healthcare of
Atlanta [3, p. 2] believes that, “There is no personal satisfaction or
growth
from winning by cheating – by having a chemical do the work instead of
your own
effort.” Shouldn’t exercise
physiologists be concerned as well?
Isn’t the win-at-all-costs attitude a disturbing trend? The prevalence of anabolic steroid use by
high school and college students indicates that it is problem. Yet, what are exercise physiologists doing to
stop the use of anabolic steroids [4] among male and female middle
school
students between 9 and 13 years of age?
Shouldn’t they help athletes understand how to handle
the pressure to
succeed, look good or fit it without using performance-enhancing
supplement?
Some day, a not too distant day, exercise
physiologists will
have to face up to their failure to recommend something other than
“winning at
whatever the price.” Otherwise, the
usual stories about “doping athletes stripped of medals” will mirror
stories
about “exercise physiologists as pushers.”
This is most unfortunate. There
are already too many experts, including medical doctors, who are
helping athletes
cheat [5]. Exercise physiologists should
get out of the business of helping athletes break the rules of moral
and
ethical thinking. The ethical dilemma of
using legal performance-enhancing substances is as real as using
illegal
substances.
The use of performance-enhancing
substances is a
multi-billion dollar industry. Shouldn’t
exercise physiologists care that the industry is using their profession
to
promote supplement products? This
problem is not new. But, no one seems
fired up to teach something other than the quick fix to build muscle or
to run
faster (i.e., no one from within exercise physiology).
Note that Searle [6, p. 1] is not an exercise
physiologist, he said, “Using special drugs to boost an athlete’s
performance
is degrading to sports and to the athlete.”
Further, he said: “Athletes are trying to cheat using
unnatural
shortcuts….” Again, while the use of
these substances is growing among young athletes, exercise
physiologists have
buried their heads in the sand.
Although mine is the only name
on this article, others must
agree with me. Yet, I discovered some
years ago that most of my colleagues’ view of exercise physiology is a
traditional snapshot of the sports medicine world.
Leaders of exercise physiology have a
significant role in creating the state of mind that is consistent with
the
fundamentals of healthcare. They can
serve exercise physiology by standing up and taking charge. The lack of leadership is the problem. This is also why those who have the backbone
to think for themselves or who are transformed by a vision is at odds
with
established thinking. The worldwide
community of exercise physiologists has not undergone a professional
transformation or revolution. This would
leave today’s exercise physiologists on the short end of the stick if
it were
not the founding of the American Society of Exercise Physiologists.
A student at St. Scholastica said:
“Becoming a professional
exercise physiologists isn’t easy.” I
think he’s right. The simple truth is
that more students must get involved with the ASEP organization. It’s up to exercise physiologists to say to
sports medicine that: “We have the right
to our own professional organization.”
Similarly, it’s up to exercise physiologists to unravel
the gravely
flawed thinking that drives the use of performance-enhancing substances. Just one person can matter…an undergraduate,
a master-prepared exercise physiologist or a professor can matter in
helping
athletes stay away from supplements.
Just one person can matter bears repeating however hard
it is to believe. Why not listen to your
inner voice? Why not believe that you can
make a
difference in the lives of young athletes?
Don’t concern yourself with
failure. Do what is right.
Do the right things for the right
reasons. Young athletes do not have any
reason using performance-enhancing substances.
It makes no sense at all. Hence,
I would argue that others will think similarly if you would put into
action
your thinking on the subject. I cannot
stress too much the need to believe in exercise physiology as a
healthcare
profession. By doing so, you will help
all of us to free ourselves from the constraints of
performance-enhancing
supplements, which locks all of us into a non-professional role. By conceptualizing and engaging in a new view
of sports nutrition, we can move into the future unencumbered by past
thinking. In other words, we become who
we were meant to be. And, in the words
of Warren Bennis [7]: “We shape life, rather than being shaped by it.”
Exercise physiologists must be
willing to make the right
decision even if they are uncertain.
Here and now, the ASEP leaders need you.
Invest in athletics and in athletes by speaking against
performance-enhancing supplements. Take
risks and do everything to keep athletes clean and free from using
supplements. Be a leader and set the
direction
of athletics in your community. Be
patient. Change takes time, but it’s not
an impossible dream. Talk about what
others can’t believe can happen. Write
about it. Share the message however
possible to inspire change. The future
of exercise physiology as well as the health of young athletes depends
on your
thoughts and feelings. So, stand tall
and show some backbone [8]. It’s time to
show some passion and reason, too. And,
remember, it may be as Terry Pearce [9] said, “Such moments of
expression are
mythic, in that they signal a coming of age, a willingness to stand for
something.”
In sum, exercise physiologists have the
means to free
themselves from the supplement industry, which locks them into a
one-way street
to a lost of credibility. By standing
for professional integrity, exercise physiologists can move into the
future
along with other healthcare professionals.
They can free themselves and, in so doing, free athletes
from
performance-enhancing supplements.
References
- American Academy
of Pediatrics. (2005). Policy Statement: Use of Performance-Enhancing
Substances. Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness.
Pediatrics. 115:4:1103-1106.
- American Academy
of Pediatrics. (2005). AAP Condemns Use of Performance-Enhancing
Substances. [Online]. http://aap.org/advocacy/releases/aprsubstances.htm
- Children’s Sports Medicine
Program. (2005). Nutritional and Performance Enhancing Supplements.
[Online]. http://www.choa.org/ourservices/sportsmedicine
- Faigenbaum, A.D., Zaichkowsky,
L.D., Gardner,
D.E., and Micheli, L.J. (1998). Anabolic Steriod Use by Male and Female Middle School Students.
Pediatrics. 101:5:1-17
- Robertson, J. (2002). Doping
Scandals: Winning at Whatever the Price. Northwest Runner. [Online]. http://www.nwrunner.com/features/04-02Dr_Rob.html
- Searle, J. (1998). Muscle
Medicine Makes Minds Minuscule. [Online]. http://dsc.dixie/barry/fall98/searlemuscle.htm
- Bennis, W. (2003). On Becoming
a Leader. New York,
NY: Basic
Books, p. 71.
- Boone, T. (2004). Show Some
Backbone. Professionalization of Exercise Physiologyonline. 7:11
[Online]. http://faculty.css.edu/tboone2/asep/ShowSomeBackbone.html
- Pearce, T. (2003). Leading Out
Loud. San Francisco,
CA:
Jossey-Bass.
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