Drugs and the adolescent athlete

The pediatrician performing a preparticipation physical examination on an adolescent athlete should discuss the use of ergogenic aids. This could be with all of the athletes present in the case of the mass screening examination, or in private during the preferred office-based physical examination, whether preparticipation or health maintenance. Knowing which sport the youth is active in can lead to the drugs most likely being misused being emphasized by the physician; ie, androgens in the case of weightlifting and football, and amphetamines in competitive events like swimming, football, and track. Not only should the risks be discussed (an unsuccessful way to influence adolescents' behavior), but the drugs' degree of ineffectiveness should be stressed. Finally, and possibly at least as importantly, the moral question of a competitor attempting to gain an "illegal edge" should be addressed.