Athletes As Young As 12 Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs

A recent study in Australia has shown that young elite level athletes are turning to performance-enhancing drugs, some as young as 12-years old.

The three-year study by Griffith University and the University of Canberra, interviewed 938 athletes aged between 12-17, found that around 4% were using performance or image enhancing drugs (PEDs).

The study - Tracking the Development of Attitudes to Doping: A Longitudinal Study of Young Elite Athletes, set out with three specific aims:

    To assess the incidence of performance enhancing drug use among 12-17 year olds.
    To assess attitudes towards performance enhancing drug use among 12-17 year olds.
    To examine the relationships between individual characteristics, sporting history, social environment, and attitudes towards performance enhancing drug use.

Dr Stephen Moston – the associate professor at the University of Canberra – who co-authored the study with Griffith University’s Dr Terry Engelberg and Professor James Skinner, thinks the blame is put on not testing young athletes.

There is evidence suggesting that athletes as young as 12 years of age use performance enhancing drugs, and that such use has increased in the past decade. This study indicates that performance enhancing drugs and supplement use (a potential precursor of doping) are now relatively prevalent amongst young elite athletes. Given that young athletes are rarely subject to anti-doping testing, the potential increase of drug use is largely going unchecked. Both anti-doping education and detection efforts must be expanded to incorporate such populations.

Key findings of the report are:

    Younger athletes are more likely than their adult counterparts to think doping is common among the sports top stars, suspecting 1/3 take prohibited drugs.
    Almost 5% have been offered performance-enhancing drugs and 10% think their competition is are using drugs.
    About 1/3 use nutritional dietary supplements to enhance performance, including whey protein shakes and creatine.

The findings would shock the public and that young athletes were still cheating, regardless of their age and that athletes would seek to avoid testing.

One in five athletes aged over 18 believed their peers were using banned drugs to obtain an unfair advantage and males were more likely to use performance-enhancing drugs than females.

Athletics, cycling and rugby league were the most common sports were doping was evident and need to increase the frequency of testing.

In adult athletes, the report found 8% had been offered PEDs, whilst the adult sporting community think that 20% of their peers are using PEDs.