PEDs becoming a growing issue for women: An interview with Dr April Henning
An anti-doping expert has warned how performance enhancing drugs are becoming a growing issue – and risk - for women who believe they may be able to boost their appearance through taking them
Dr April Henning, an associate professor in international sport management at Heriot-Watt University, believes the advertisement of substances promising quick results online is increasing the pressure on people, particularly females, to look a certain way.
And while doping has largely been looked at through the lens of elite sport, Henning is concerned that recreational sportswomen and fitness enthusiasts are being influenced too.
“The impact of social media is incredible,” said Henning, who specialises in research into gendered doping cultures. “What you learn online impacts what you do offline. Then when people are back online, they tell others about what they’ve done and where they’ve purchased various things.
“Currently, in elite sport, there is a sport and socio-cultural narrative around anti-doping and what is okay and what is not okay. But in the recreational space the lines are blurred. So, what is being seen now is an additional drive for not just sports performance enhancement, but the enhancement of image and appearance.
“We’re seeing weekend triathletes and people like that taking things to look good and that is away from organised and elite sport.
“It is particularly fascinating when looking at women in this regard because there is so much pressure on women still to look, sound and behave in certain ways. There’s lots of substances widely available and with a very low barrier to entry for getting them, such as online and with discounts offered by influencers.
“People can purchase many of these substances online, and influencers are increasingly marketing them as safe, cheap and sometimes
“We're now seeing this turn back to people wanting to be super skinny, a look that touches back to the late nineties and early 2000s.
“All of that pressure is coming through."
Henning is currently working on a World Anti-Doping Agency funded research project on women’s IPED use, specifically how women's support personnel, such as coaches, trainers, nutritionists and doctors, influence or impact their decisions to use or not use a range of substances.
With social media a key avenue in making various IPEDs and supplements more readily available than ever, Henning was clear in her advice to anyone who was thinking of going down that road.
She added: "The only mission I have ever had in my research, the only reason I ever got into this is because I want to make sport better, safer and healthier for athletes.
“Just because somebody who is super muscular or looks the way that you want to look, or lifts the way you want to lift, or runs the way you want to run, just because they're doing something or taking something, does not mean it's safe and it does not mean it's right for you.
“We've all come across the ‘gym bros’ that tell us people should be doing this, this and this. There’s so much misinformation online. This is the one downside of the social rise of fitness and social media.
“There's no barrier and there are very few safety checks. Somebody who presents themselves as being very knowledgeable as they hold up products and point out the ingredients, doesn’t mean they know anything.
“Always consider your source when getting information on things.”
Dr Henning was speaking ahead of UK Anti-Doping's (UKAD) annual Clean Sport Week, which takes place between 11-17 May.
The annual campaign that celebrates fair play and champions drug-free sport, is pushing the message, ‘built not bought. 100% me’, in a bid to promote that lasting success comes from hard work, talent and dedication – it can’t be bought.
Throughout the week, UKAD will tackle misinformation online about Image and Performance Enhancing Drugs (IPEDs), share accurate health information and highlight the role athletes play as role models for the next generation.