Drug Testing High School Athletes and Fitness Trainers

Abstract

The recreational use of steroids and other image enhancing drugs (SIEDs) to enhance image and/or performance has been firmly recognized as a public health concern (McVeigh, et al. 2016). In a meta-analysis of 187 studies exploring the recreational use of SIEDs, an overall global lifetime prevalence of 3.3 percent, and a lifetime prevalence of 2.3 percent for high school students who use SIEDs, was found (Sagoe, et al. 2014). In addition, looking at fitness training-related groups, such as bodybuilders, we see much higher numbers, with prevalence rates in gyms as high as almost half of all members. While most countries focus on prevention and education to deal with this growing issue, a handful have taken the drastic step of introducing dope-testing programs in gyms (only EU countries) and high schools (mainly the United States).