Activity 4.4.3: Performance Enhancers

Introduction

During the Olympics or other elite sporting events, competitors test the limits of human strength, speed and agility. These athletes spend hours in the gym, building muscle and enhancing their cardiovascular fitness. Many athletes train for years, hoping to make it to the top of their sport. The pressure to perform is often overwhelming. Looking for an edge and fearing falling behind the competition, some athletes up their training and alter their diet, while others turn to more controversial, often illegal and dangerous performance enhancers to “level the playing field.” While these drugs may have positive effects on performance, they inflict serious long term and short term damage on the human body. These drugs or treatmentsdamage the health and the reputation of the athlete, as well as the integrity of the sport.

Despite repeated scandals, performance enhancing drugs and treatments still are being used. In 1999, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was created to monitor the use of performance enhancing drugs, screen athletes for the use of banned substances and protect the integrity of athletic competition. Their mission is to encourage athletes around the globe to “play true” and to refrain from the use of artificial enhancements.

In this activity, you will research a performance-enhancing drug or treatment and investigate how this drug is supposed to improve athletic performance. As you think about how this drug interacts with the systems of the body, you will also explore the risk this drug or treatment imposes on overall health. As a class, you will convene a meeting of the WADA and decide which supplements or drugs should be banned from athletic competition.

Equipment

  • Computer with Internet access
  • Activity 4.4.3 Student Response Sheet
  • Laboratory journal

Procedure

  1. You have been asked to be a part of the World Anti-Doping Agency summit on performance enhancers. You will explore the way in which these supplements work, assess health risks and decide whether or not each substance should be banned from use in athletic competitions.
  2. With a partner, research one of the drugs, supplements or treatmentssaid to enhance athletic performance:
  • Creatine
  • Anabolic steroids
  • Beta-blockers
  • Erythropoietin(EPO)
  • Human growth hormone (hGH)
  • Stimulants (ephedrine)
  • Diuretics
  • Caffeine
  • Blood Doping
  • Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)
  • Glutamine
  • Androstenedione (Andro)
  1. Take notes in your laboratory journal as you answer the following questions about your assigned enhancer.
  • What is this drug, supplement or treatment?
  • Why do some athletes choose to use this enhancer?How does this treatment alter the body in a way that enhances athletic performance?List and describe the body systems that are affected.
  • What are the short and long term health risks associated with this enhancer? Describe the damage to human body systems.
  1. Obtain a Student Response Sheet from your teacher.
  2. Condense your notes to the main information a person would need to know to decide on the use of this substance. Summarize the key findings and add this information to the appropriate row on the Student Response Sheet. Be prepared to present your findings to the committee. You may have an opinion on whether or not this substance should be banned, but only present the “facts” at the first part of the summit.
  3. Gather all of the members of the committee in a roundtable discussion and present your findings.
  4. Take notes on the Student Response Sheet as other groups report on their enhancer. Make sure to ask questions if you are unclear of something that is presented.
  5. Once all groups have presented, meet back with your original partner and come to consensus on which enhancers you believe should be banned.Be prepared to defend your reasoning to the entire team.
  6. Reconvene with the entire team, discuss and debate choices for the list. Discuss the effects of these enhancers on human body systems. Does this enhancer take away from the spirit of the games or risk the health of the athlete?
  7. Appoint one member of the team as a moderator for the discussion. The moderator will make sure all are heard as you debate and discuss choices for the final list. Your teacher may decide to play the role of the moderator.
  8. Appoint one member of the team as the recorder. This person will write a final list of substances to be banned on the board for all to see.
  1. After the summit has ended and the class has agreed on a list, view thecurrent WADA Prohibited List found at . Explore the wide range of performance enhancing drugs that are banned in competition. Discuss any differences between the class list and the actual WADA list.

Conclusion

  1. Describe how two of the performance enhancers you discussed in the summit affect human body systems. Be sure to include both positive effects and negative effects.
  1. Some performance enhancers are only banned in specific sports. Why do you think beta-blockers are banned in sports such as archery or gymnastics?
  1. Unfortunately, it is not just athletes who are turning to these types of treatments. Many young men and woman, unhappy with their bodies, may turn to drugs in the hopes of added muscle mass, increased size or a leaner body. Why do you think students your age might consider using these drugs and what would you say to those who are considering it?
  1. “Gene doping” has recently been added to the WADA prohibited list. What do you think this term means?
  1. Finnish cross-country skier Eero Mantyranta won two gold medals in the 1964 Winter Olympics. It was not until decades later that scientists identified a genetic mutation in Eero’s family that causes an excessive response to EPO. How do you think this “natural advantage” contributed to Eero’s success in endurance sports?
  1. Describe at least two other genetic changes (either natural or through genetic enhancement) that might improve the performance of an athlete. Make sure to explain how the gene change is linked to increased chances for success.
  1. Throughout this course, we have been looking at medical interventions as a means to preserve and better life as we know it. Explain how performance enhancersshow another side of medical interventions.

©2014 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Human Body SystemsActivity 4.4.3 Performance Enhancers – Page 1