Are Performance Enhancing Drugs Really Improving Performance?

Exercise mimetics are “exercise pills” but are they ok for you and I to use?

Many people, including athletes, resort to using “exercise pills” to help enhance their athletic ability. These are thought to help solve the physical inactivity crisis, but is it for everyone? Adapted from the Salk Institute through Manufacturing.net.

Many people argue that performance-enhancing drugs are cheating, especially in the Olympics. Athletes have been using doping as a way to win competitions. Some use exercise mimetics, which are drugs that mimic the benefits of exercise without actually exercising. These include AICAR and GW5015156, which are exercise mimetics responsible for enhancing endurance and improved running time. Roland Schoeman, a former Olympic champion in swimming, was banned for testing positive for GW501516. Even in the 2012 Summer Olympics, Elena Lashmanova, a 23-year-old racewalker, tested positive for using GW501516. Also, in 2012, the Spanish police arrested multiple people, including a sports doctor, who assisted a cycling team by using AICAR to aid in enhanced endurance.

Will these “exercise pills” actually solve the physical inactivity crisis that is happening? Well, according to Dr. Ronald Evans from the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, the purpose of these exercise mimetics is to “enhance the response to exercise and you can shift the type of energy you use from using carbohydrates to lipids.” This interests many people, especially when you are trying to lose that stubborn fat.

It is known that exercise does wonders because it makes you feel good about yourself and this is because it affects your mental state and how you deal with stress. However, only “taking exercise pills will not let you reap those benefits.” This is part of the reason why taking a pill will not solve the physical inactivity crisis. Exercise is also about behavior. If you are morbidly obese and it is difficult to exercise in the first place, then this would be a way to overcome that obstacle! Once that barrier has been overcome, the individual is more motivated and will most likely continue their fitness journey.

Of course, there are risks when it comes to taking performance enhancement drugs, such as the development of tumors in your uterus when studies were conducted on rats. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) advises athletes and average people to stay away from these drugs because it can be potentially hazardous, especially if you overdose or use the drug for a prolonged period. Not many studies look at the effects of long-term exposure to humans. It is potentially hazardous in the short-term, so you are taking a risk if you decide to use it.

Do these exercise mimetics only serve as aids for sports performance?

The answer is no because individuals who are unable to exercise due to physical disability will miss out on the benefits of exercise. If you were a quadriplegic or morbidly obese, it is rather difficult to actually exercise. This is why Evans and his team decided to make this class of drugs because it is already known that exercise has a lot of benefits, so this is a way to get these benefits to this population. Studies show that these exercise mimetics will help mitigate cardiomyopathy and improve heart function.

Evans’ lab focuses a lot on steroidal hormones but there is a stigma with using steroids, but with the proposed reasons, it is valid to continue this research. Some people say that it is “cheating” when other people have a proper diet and regular exercise. Remember that certain people just physically cannot exercise!

The Consequence of Having Exercise Mimetics

Some question why these drugs are available on the market and how these athletes are able to obtain exercise mimetics. The reason being is that these drugs are “very attractive and are highly effective supplements.” These were intended for “research only and not for human consumption.” Different laboratories are able to create different forms of these drugs to make it consumable for those who want to enhance performance. Even certain food supplements contain these exercise mimetics.

With the increase of doping in the athletic industry, there need to be ways to regulate this and prevent abuse. There are different ways to detect these molecules like blood and urine tests. It is a complicated process because there needs to be an understanding of how these molecules are metabolized in the body. AICAR, for example, is able to be detected in the blood because of its presence in the blood’s lifespan, which is 120 days.

It is difficult to regulate these molecules on the black market, but the purpose of these molecules is not for athletic performance, but to help those who cannot physically exercise. There will always be those who do not use drugs or medications for their intended purpose, so this may turn into a crisis if not handled properly. So, are performance-enhancing drugs really cheating? It depends who uses them.

http://www.jpp.krakow.pl/journal/archive/08_14/pdf/469_08_14_article.pdf