Athletes & Growth Hormones

News of athletes who fail doping tests before major sports events has been making headlines on and off throughout the years. How does human growth hormone help athletes and why do major sporting associations ban it? Human growth hormone is believed to improve strength and performance in athletes. However, there are contradictory findings about studies conducted about the effects of human growth hormone.

  1. Muscle Mass

    • Human growth hormone (HGH) has an anabolic effect on the body. This means the hormone increases the body's muscle mass, which is permanent. It achieves this by boosting the body's ability to synthesize protein. HGH also increases the size of existing muscle cells. Human growth hormone is used to treat a number of conditions. Increase in muscle mass has been observed in children suffering from growth hormone deficiency--when they take HGH--in Turner's syndrome or intrauterine growth retardation.

    Strength

    • Human growth hormone is also believed by some to strengthen connective tissues like ligaments, tendons and cartilage. The result is that injuries become less frequent, and if there are any injuries, they heal faster.

    Athletic Performance

    • The fact that human growth hormone makes one less prone to injuries and helps a person to recover from injuries faster is an advantage for athletes. Human growth hormone also helps one to burn fat faster, while reducing loss of protein due to intense activity. This helps athletes to have low body fat without losing their muscles. A study done by researchers at Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research showed that growth hormone has a positive effect on an athlete's performance. The study, which was done on 103 healthy recreational athletes ages 18 to 40, indicated that growth hormone increases an athlete's ability to sprint on a bicycle but has no effects on fitness, jumping or weightlifting abilities.

    Contradictions

    • A study conducted by Hau Liu, associate chief of endocrinology, Stanford University, however, showed that human growth hormone does not have any positive effect on performance of athletes. The study concluded that the hormone increases lean body mass, but it may not increase strength of athletes. Instead, the team reported that participants in the study who were given growth hormone produced two to three times higher-than-normal levels of lactate in their bodies when they exercised. Some even complained of fatigue and soft tissue edema.

    Law

    • The federal law allows a physician to use human growth hormone to treat medical conditions. However, it is illegal for healthy people to use it to augment muscle growth or athletic performance. The World Anti-Doping Agency, International Olympic Committee, Major League Baseball and National Football League have banned the use of human growth by athletes.