'Concerning' number of young people exposed to ads for 'life-threatening' substances

A "concerning" number of young people are being exposed to social media adverts for "life-threatening" performance-enhancing substances on a regular basis, says UK Anti-Doping (Ukad).

Of 1,034 survey respondents aged 16-25, 29% told UKAD they saw ads for selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) on platforms like Instagram and TikTok at least once per week, while a further 5% said they saw ads every day.

A third of the young people who said they had bought SARMs did so after seeing them promoted online.

SARMs are not approved for human consumption in the UK and can cause serious health issues, including liver failure, heart attacks and strokes.

"It's simply not worth the risk to your health to take these substances," said Ukad CEO Jane Rumble.

Athletes are banned from taking SARMs by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), but Ukad says they are increasingly being promoted online by health and fitness influencers as a 'safer' alternative to anabolic steroids for young people.

The sale of SARMs for fitness purposes is illegal, but vendors often get around the law by using phrases like "for research purposes only" in the small print of marketing materials and on product labels.

The findings - released as part of Ukad's Clean Sport Week - also show that a third of young people think information about performance-enhancing substances posted online by influencers is trustworthy, while 40% trust information from people they meet at the gym.

Ukad says social media influencers are prioritising financial gain by over-selling the potential benefits of performance-enhancing substances and neglecting to highlight the dangers.

Last year Team GB bobsleigher Arran Gulliver was banned for two years after testing positive for the banned SARM ostarine.

This year TikTok star Jack Joseph revealed in an episode of Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins that he almost died of liver failure after taking SARMs as a teenager.

'Don't trust everything you read on social media'

SARMs are not the only potentially harmful substance being marketed towards young gym-goers online.

Online searches for peptides have increased five-fold in the past year, according to data from Google Trends, having been promoted for muscle growth and injury recovery by influencers focused on fitness and looksmaxxing - predominantly US-based young men promoting extreme forms of appearance modification.

Peptides are chains of amino acids which can occur naturally in the body, but some synthetics types have historically been injected by weightlifters and bodybuilders to enhance performance.

Synthetic peptides are generally unregulated and can present a variety of health issues, including sepsis, allergic reactions, swelling, heart palpitations and thyroid dysfunction.

Use of anabolic steroids can lead to an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and psychiatric issues.

According to the Ukad survey, 5% of young people said they were exposed to online ads for peptides every day, while 6% saw promotion for anabolic steroids on a daily basis.

"Our advice to young people is don't trust everything you read on social media," said Rumble.

"Real success is built, not bought."

Figure caption,

There's concern young people are being influenced