Ergogenic Aids in Western Countries

Historically sport pharmacology was not acknowledged in the United States. Instead, the concept of ergogenic aids and sports supplements have been prompted. Ergogenic aids include any substances or methods believed to aid or improve athletic performance.

Interest in ergogenic aids centers on the effects of drugs on athletic performance, particularly on the effects of anabolic steroids on increasing muscle size and strength. Most of the ergogenic aids have been borrowed from medicine and biological sciences, but few of them have been proven by experimental research to be effective and safe as sports performance enhancers. Also, there is no comprehensive methodology for their use. There is also little information about their toxicity (acute or chronic) or their effects on physical stimulation or recuperation.

Moreover, the concept of ergogenic aids has become commercialized and served as an instrument for business rather than scientific support for athletes. Even multi-million dollar sports supplementation companies in the United States do not back up their products with satisfactory experimental studies.