Impressionable young folks are purposely targeted by advertisers of dietary supplements that claim to enhance strength, energy and weight loss. And a new survey shows that the use of these products is linked with a higher risk of severe medical events in kids and teens…
“The FDA has issued countless warnings about supplements sold for weight loss, muscle building or sport performance, sexual function, and energy, and we know these products are widely marketed to and used by young people. So what are the consequences for their health?” asked Study Lead Author Dr. Flora Or.
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‘Little Hercules’ (left)
was a well known
child body builder
in the 1990s.
This is just not
natural…
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Study Co-author Dr. S. Bryn Austin commented that reputable physicians do not recommend the use of the supplements analyzed in this study. Many of these products have been found to be adulterated with prescription pharmaceuticals, banned substances, heavy metals, pesticides and other dangerous chemicals. Other studies have linked weight-loss and muscle-building supplements with stroke, testicular cancer, liver damage, and even death.
What they did
Researchers at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Medicine set up a data-mining study of the archives of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System on the Food and Dietary Supplements database, targeting reports filed between January 2004 and April 2015 on events involving young people between ages 0 and 25.
What they found
They found there were 977 single-supplement-related adverse event reports for the target group. Of those, approximately 40 percent involved severe medical outcomes, including death and hospitalization.
Supplements sold for weight loss, muscle building, and energy were associated with almost three times the risk for severe medical outcomes compared to vitamins.
Supplements sold for sexual function and colon cleanse were associated with approximately two times the risk for severe medical outcomes compared to vitamins.
The takeaway
“How can we continue to let the manufacturers of these products and the retailers who profit from them play Russian roulette with America’s youth?” Austin said. “It is well past time for policymakers and retailers to take meaningful action to protect children and consumers of all ages.”
My take
Clearly, the use of non-recommended dietary supplements is a serious problem, especially among young people. I wonder whether, if they knew about the findings of the Harvard study, they would still risk using them? Publicity of such findings and reference to them by family physicians would be a really positive move.
There’s also the angle that these basically unnecessary supplements just add to the strain on the already overburdened health care system. Like the consequences of Obesity, this costs us all, both monetarily and in the potential denial of services to folks who have more legitimate, non-avoidable health issues.
Seems to me that we, as a society, need to work on de-emphasizing the desirability of stick-thin physiques for young women (see photo, top of page), big muscular bodies for young men (see photo, above) and artificially enhanced stamina for everybody. The effort involved in that could much more profitably be directed to education of young people about how to eat right and choose healthy diets. If a given young woman fated by her genes to be thin and beautiful, or a young man is destined for athletic greatness, they’ll grow up that way naturally just by following a healthy lifestyle.
As Jeff Goldbloom’s character in the Jurassic Park movies keeps saying, “Nature always finds a way.” Maybe the scourge of severe medical events in young people is Nature’s way of warning us that some dietary supplements are doing more harm than good. And as we all know, you don’t want to fool with Mother Nature…
~ Maggie J.