Summertime means hot weather, long nights and plenty of teen health hit pieces.
Big today: How the media forces kids to meet unattainable standards of looks. Boys need to be big and strong. Girls need to be rail thin yet toned. Here is a piece from USNews.com:
Sculpted arms without breaking a sweat? Two minutes a day to chiseled abs? Teens preoccupied with defined muscles or attempting to gain weight were more likely to take potentially harmful supplements at least weekly, report researchers in a new study in Pediatrics.
Even though this hit piece is meant to be anti-supplement it starts off with a complete fabrication that even the most outrageous product wouldn’t claim. Hopefully these easily influenced teenagers aren’t reading this article.
The point of the article/study is that a lot of teens are self-conscious of their bodies and therefore are at risk. It repeatedly refers to the “potentially unhealthful products,” mostly powders and shakes, that have “unknown health consequences” but are “probably safe”. A very powerful warning.
The common view of these powders and shakes by people that don’t use them is that they are magic muscle builders. They are built up as drugs that will build up big muscles with little or no work. In reality, the main function of most of these supplements is to let the user exercise more. They increase fluid retention, saturate the body with natural substances and most importantly speed up muscle recovery.
The MTV.com view of the same study is that health magazine reading plays a vital role in this apparent problem. They stick to mostly the numbers of the study before jumping straight to ‘roids:
Protein powders are safe, [Harvard medical professor Dr. Alison] Field notes, but steroids have serious side effects, and other products may not be as risk-free as many assume. Anabolic steroids have been linked to testicular atrophy and male impotence, liver and kidney damage, an increased risk for heart disease, and uncontrollable aggression, nicknamed ” ‘roid rage.”
If you are a teen wondering if you should take supplements to aid your workouts, Dr. Eric Small, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ sports medicine and fitness committee, thinks you better have a good motive (AP):
“Working out is definitely a good thing but you have to work out for the right reasons,” Small said.
Eric Anderson at 8:09 pm
