\n<\/p>\n
The Games take place at a time when concerns are being raised over the medicalisation of Western society, with social media and ‘looksmaxxing’ blamed for fuelling demand for weight-loss injections, cosmetic treatments and performance substances. <\/p>\n
According to UK Anti-Doping (Ukad), a “concerning” number of young people are being exposed to social media adverts<\/a> for “life-threatening” performance-enhancing substances on a regular basis.<\/p>\n In the US, the FDA is considering easing restrictions on the use of peptide injections after Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr pushed to have the therapies deregulated.<\/p>\n The move was welcomed by Enhanced, which said it was “planning to offer access to additional peptides”.<\/p>\n Synthetic types of peptides have historically been injected by weightlifters and bodybuilders to enhance performance, but critics warn they can present a variety of health issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ukad chief executive Jane Rumble told BBC Sport that the Enhanced Games “sends a dangerous message about PEDs, with little if anything said about the health risks associated, and those risks are significant”.<\/p>\n Prof Ian Boardley of Birmingham University, whose research has been supported by Wada, says competitors run the risk of a greater chance of heart attacks and psychiatric issues and that organisers’ assurances over medical supervision were “incorrect and misleading”, external<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n BBC Sport asked Enhanced’s Australian swimmer James Magnussen, whose remarkably bulked up physique after taking PEDs last year went viral, if he had any concerns.<\/p>\n “I believe that were there to be long-term implications for my health, there surely would have been some short- to medium-term indicators that say ‘hey, this isn’t tracking properly, you are seeing side effects’. To this point we haven’t seen those,” the three-time Olympic medallist said.<\/p>\n “As professional athletes, we take risks with our health innately by what we do. There’s nothing healthy about training at the peak of your physical ability for 30 hours a week.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n