Doping beim Freizeit- und Breitensport / Carl Müller-Platz, Carsten Boos, R. Klaus Müller
- Berlin : Robert Koch-Institut; Bonn : Statistisches Bundesamt, 2006
- Gesundheitsberichterstattung des Bundes, Heft 34
- ISBN 978-3-89606-174-4
- ISSN 1437-5478
Recreational sports in clubs and commercial sports
facilities are widespread in Germany. The positive health
effects are well documented. Unfortunately doping and
drug abuse also exist in this area. The few available
studies in Europe regarding doping beyond high level
sports point out that only a small number of customers
of fitness clubs abuses doping substances, males more
often than females. In particular among bodybuilders
there are users of prohibited substances (especially anabolic
steroids). The health-threatening potential of these
substances is considerable. Numerous biomedical side
effects including an increased mortality rate have been
documented.
Besides individual motives, like body-shaping also social
factors are of importance, when asking for the causes
of substance abuse in recreational sports. The often
careless use of substances for compensating alleged or
transient physical or mental disturbances is widespread
in our society. In order to be successful, prevention
measures should not be limited to the context of sports
alone. Moreover it is essential to create critical awareness
concerning performance enhancing substances in
all areas of daily life.
