Doping among amatour sportsmen

The problem of doping affects not only professionals, but also amateur athletes. How many amateur competition participants use doping? 10, 20 and maybe 40 % as Germany? Why, despite educational campaigns, despite social ostracism, is doping still used? How many more doping-induced deaths must happen in amateur athletics before we realize that there is no point in taking a shortcut?

What is doping?

The Australian Institute of Sport has developed a diet supplementation program for people doing competitive sports, in which it has distinguished four groups of supplements. Group A includes nutrients and substances that support nutritional goals and physical performance. The purpose of using these supplements is to replenish energy reserves, support the regeneration processes and proper hydration of the body. This group includes gels and bars for sportsmen and vitamin preparations. Only overdosing them can have negative health consequences.

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What is doping?

The Australian Institute of Sport has developed a diet supplementation program for people doing competitive sports, in which it has distinguished four groups of supplements. Group A…

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Group B includes supplements, such as, glutamine, glucosamine, probiotics, melatonin, recommended for athletes, but requiring further research, as the results so far do not provide evidence of their effectiveness. Group C includes supplements for which there is scientific evidence that they do not benefit the health of athletes. These are among others branched chain amino acids, carnitine, coenzyme Q10, nitric oxide, or oxygenated water. On the other hand, group D includes supplements prohibited for athletes that have a negative impact on human health. This group includes, among others, androstenedione, 19-norandrostenedione DHEA, 19-norandrostenediol, ephedra, strychnine, Tribulus terrestris and other herbal supplements that increase free testosterone in the blood as well as glycerol.

Why do amatours use doping?

There are many reasons and many temptations to use doping substances. We want to improve our functioning in various areas. The first is the psyche, the ability to control emotions, creating positive emotions related to the activity and enhancing self-esteem. Cognitive functions, i.e., the ability to think logically, motor memory or the ability to deal with stress are very important for our psyche – says Mirosława Adamus, Doctor of Medicine, an expert in the field of stress psychology, lecturer at the Vistula School of Hospitality and the Medical University of Warsaw.

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Why do amatours use doping?

There are many reasons and many temptations to use doping substances. We want to improve our functioning in various areas. The first is the psyche, the ability to contro…

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Another area is the condition of our body, fitness, strength, muscle mass, efficiency, or the level of hormones that condition physical fitness and mobilize our body – adds the expert. The social aspect may also tempt people to reach for illegal substances. Participation in competitions, even amateur ones, is associated with the evaluation of other people, i.e., their acceptance or criticism. What’s more, we are also dealing with social consent to the use such substances. If my friends use doping and achieve good results, it means that I can also take shortcuts – adds Mirosława Adamus, Doctor of Medicine, from the Vistula School of Hospitality. Self-improvement is also a very common reason for doping as it seems to be a way to control our body and achieve better and better results, and then setting up our goals even higher. In addition, there is also an element of human competition, which makes us want to improve our record on a given distance, route, to be in the top ten or on the podium.

What are the consequences of doping?

The use of prohibited substances in sports not only brings the expected results’ improvement, but it also creates risks. As the results of the research conducted at the request of the Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA) show, this is not common knowledge. About 40 % of Poles do not know how big impact the regular use of such agents would have on their health. A mateur athlets seem to be more aware that individual doping substances when used regularly can have a serious negative impact on their health. So, what are the consequences of doping? – Very serious, when using supplements from group D, it can damage almost all functional systems, cause changes in the cardiovascular, urinary and digestive systems, or in cognitive functions – says Mirosława Adamus, Doctor of Medicine.

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What are the consequences of doping?

The use of prohibited substances in sports not only brings the expected results’ improvement, but it also creates risks. As the results of the research conducte…

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These substances have a neurodegenerative effect, they destroy our nerve cells, in the long run we are less agile, less intelligent, we can exhibit behavioral changes and even aggressive behavior. Regular use of doping disturbs the secretion of hormones and even causes infertility and impotence.

The problem of doping among amateur athletes is growing, but cooperation of both sides, i.e., of participants and organizers of amateur competitions as regards co-financing anti-doping testing. The costs of conducting such tests are high, if we include hormones in the test, the cost of testing one sample may increase up to PLN 8,000. The next step in the fight against doping is the penalty for using it. Ideally, it should be severe, maybe then it would trigger some changes.