Saturday Quack - Growth Hormone Is Not an Aid for Athletes

Human growth hormone, which has been available since the 1980s, has become progressively more popular among athletes who hope it will give them a performance boost. However, a meta-analysis of medically published studies has just been reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The authors found 27 studies that involved 440 athletes, 303 of whom had been given growth hormone. Dosage averaged 36 micrograms per kg body weight daily, with an average duration of 20 days.

While lean body mass increased (+ 2.1 kg on average) – mostly due to muscle - strength and exercise capacity did not improve. The participants taking growth hormone were more likely to experience edema (swelling) of their soft tissues and fatigue that those not taking the hormone. In other words, the muscles got ‘fatter but not better’.

These were short-term studies, which cannot not be expected to pick up side effects found after long-term use. Growth hormone is popular as an agent that may slow the aging process, but this use, too, is questionable. Better take your doctor’s advice before embarking on a course of treatment that may just be worse than the benefits offered.