Why so many Australian high school boys are taking protein powders and steroids

A worrying number of high school students in Australia are using protein powders and steroids as they look for ways to impress girls and be accepted in their social circles.

It’s because research has shown that dangerous and banned additives in over-the-counter muscle-building products are being smuggled across the country — and the end result for users can be deadly.

Sports Integrity Australia [SIA] conducted the study, which found that nearly half of 240 boys in a Melbourne school, aged between 14 and 16, consumed protein powders.

Nearly 70 percent of male teens interviewed said they plan to use them.

Many of the students also took the muscle-building compound creatine, while others took steroids.

It’s because research has shown that dangerous and banned additives in over-the-counter muscle-building products are being smuggled across the country — and the end result for users can be deadly (pictured, a young man lifting weights)

Reasons given for this included to look good in front of their peers on sports teams and to impress young women.

A second study found that one in five food products sold in Australian supermarkets was contaminated with substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The flow-on effect causes impressionable teens to take supplements that can lead to addiction.

Alexis Cooper, SIA’s director of education, admitted that many impressionable youth are experimenting with products they have limited knowledge of because it can result in faster body results.

“We know that unfortunately some people look for products with banned ingredients because they want something they think will ‘work’,” she said. News Corp.

“So they can go straight to a list of supplements that contain banned ingredients and say, ‘I’m taking so and so and so.’

Dr. Naomi Speers, the Chief Science Officer at Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), described the use of supplements as ‘a minefield’.

She also pointed out that without clinical trials the side effects are not fully known, but it has already been found that some supplements can lead to liver and heart damage.

Dr. Naomi Speers, the Chief Science Officer at Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), labeled supplements as ‘a minefield’ and can lead to liver and heart damage

Many impressionable college students also use steroids to build up their bodies quickly

The sports nutrition industry is big business worldwide.

As an industry, it is tipped to rise to $128 billion by 2030, despite the potential health risks.

Athletes are also at risk, because one misstep can end a promising sports career in the blink of an eye.

Australia’s regulatory authority, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, issued some telling advice: Never buy prescription drugs on the black market.

“The TGA recommends that consumers obtain a prescription from an Australian doctor and purchase their prescription drugs only through a registered pharmacy,” said a TGA spokesperson.

“There are numerous risks consumers face when purchasing and using prescription drugs from unreliable sources. End users are at risk of serious health problems if the goods are counterfeit, contain the wrong amount of active ingredient, are contaminated with toxic ingredients and/or contain undisclosed dangerous or illegal ingredients.”