New Sports Supplement Warnings

N E W   Y O R K, May 15, 2001 -- Millions of Americans take pills, powders and drinks to enhance body tone, lose weight, sculpt themselves and perform better at sports.

But they may be doing themselves more harm than good, especially the male teenagers most likely to take the sports supplements that are so easily available in stores or over the Internet.

See a list of the supplements, their dangers and brand names here.

Studies of the most popular sports supplements — ephedra, "andro" and creatine — show they are either ineffective or produce, at best, slight changes in performance, according to the watchdog group Consumers Union.

Ephedra, an alleged weight loss and energy booster, has been linked to deaths, the group says.

Creatine, an amino acid promoted for short-term performance enhancement, can cause severe muscle cramps.

And "andro" can lead to feminization of boys.

Billion Dollar Sales of Sports Supplements

Regardless of their potential dangers, Americans consumers, a large number of them teenage boys succumbing to pressure to perform in school sports, are spending more than $1.4 billion a year on these essentially unregulated products, the group says.

Some 6 percent of youths ages 15 to 16, and 8 percent of 17- to 18-year-olds have taken a sports supplement, the group says. The majority of these youngsters are male.

The nutrition industry, however, defends the products, saying problems arise when people abuse them and do not follow dosage recommendations on labels.

A Little Good, More Better

Americans think if a little bit of something is good, then a lot of it must be better, says John Hathcock, vice president for nutritional and regulatory science at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group for the supplement industry. That is not the case, he says.

But Nancy Metcalf, senior editor of Consumer Reports, says the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the labeling of nutritional products, leaving the 1.2 million Americans who regularly consume the sports supplements essentially in the dark about their contents.

The June issue of Consumer Reports, which is reporting the findings about the supplements, is warning consumers not to purchase these three products and to focus instead on proper nutrition and exercise to lose weight and enhance athletic performance.

Deaths Associated With Ephedra

There is no way of knowing if the products actually contain what the label says because there are no established standards in their manufacture, says Dr. Marvin Lipman, medical consultant to Consumers Union. And, he says, there are no clinical studies measuring safety and side effects of these products.

Little, also, is known about their long-term effects on adults or youngsters.

To justify limiting ephedra's sales, the magazine cited the FDA's recent study of adverse events associated with ephedra products that concluded 87 that were "definitely," "probably," or "possibly" caused by ephedra. Of these, there were 17 cases of strokes and seizures, 13 cases of permanent impairment and 10 deaths.

Countering the magazine's claim, Hathcock says a stimulant, like ephedra, might have led to these bad reactions, but added that something else might also have been responsible.

'Andro' No Muscle Builder

Consumer Reports also reports that the supposed performance booster androstenedione, known colloquially as andro, is not effective in building muscle or strength.

People take andro — also called called the Mark McGwire drug because the baseball player took it when he hit a record 70 home runs in 1998 — because it leads to the creation in the body of testosterone, a potent muscle-building steroid.

But the magazine reports andro may increase cholesterol levels, promote feminization in males and induce young puberty, male-pattern baldness and premature growth cessation.

Although Hathcock says andro is a hormone, that by itself does not mean it is unsafe, since substances can have hormonal effects and be safe. But he says a risk assessment of andro might be worth doing.

Some Creatine Benefits

Of the three supplements, Consumers Report acknowledges creatine may have some short-term benefit for certain athletes. It can enhance performance in sports requiring brief, intense bursts of strength, such as sprinting, the magazine says.

Lipman says, however, side effects of severe muscle cramping, diarrhea and dizziness make any benefit not worth the side effect. It also is not recommended for people who have kidney problems.

Besides warning adults about these products, Consumers Union is hoping to enlighten parents about the use of the supplements by teens who may believe that because the drugs are so widely available in retail outlets and on the Internet, that they must be safe.

Teens Think They Are Safe

Teen athletes hear anecdotally that competitors may be taking these substances.

"So they feel they have to take it because some are getting an unfair advantage," says Charlotte Baecher, spokeswoman for Consumers Union teen education effort called Zillions.

Consumers Union is calling on the federal government to better regulate these supplements and supports local and state efforts to prevent their sales to minors.