Student athletes are interested in gaining glory and enhancing performance, and are increasingly turning to sports supplements to help gain an edge. However, in a June 29 article, the first in a four-day series about dietary supplements and sports for the Middletown, NY-based Times Herald-Record, Justin Rodriguez questioned the safety of such products, providing a cursory overview of the sports nutrition market.
Rodriguez noted dietary supplements are not required to have pre-market approval before they are sold, as they are regulated under the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act (DSHEA). That said, he cited recent legislative efforts that have sought to expand regulatory powers over the products. For example, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA), introduced originally by Sen. John McCain in February 2010, would have significantly increased FDA’s authority over dietary supplements including requiring product registrations and allowing mandatory recall authority. However, McCain has withdrawn his support from that act and is working with Sen. Orrin Hatch on a revised bill that would provide greater product safety without the intense regulatory revisions.
Several of Rodriguez’s contacts raised serious concerns about product safety. John Underwood, president and founder of the American Athletic Institute and chemical health consultant for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, estimated 18.8 percent of supplements are tainted with steroids or other unlabeled ingredients; no data source was cited. Underwood called sports supplements “dangerous as hell,” adding, “The industry needs to be regulated, but nobody wants to take it over. It’s totally in la-la land and I don’t think any parent really knows how safe or unsafe what their kid is taking.”
Another naysayer was Rick Scarpulla, a trainer who operates the Ultimate Advantage facility, who called Underwood’s estimate of tainted supplements conservative. He told Rodriguez he advises the athletes he works with to train hard, follow a balanced diet and add protein shakes to increase lean muscle mass; he prefers the Muscle Milk brand shakes.
Finally, Dave Czesniuk, director of operations for the Center for Sport in Society in Boston, said he believes the use of supplements has boomed because of the competitive nature of sports organizations. He told Rodriguez, “This is part of the culture of taking all the fun out of sports. It’s now like a vocation. … You get this spark in your mind that you can get even bigger, faster, stronger.”