Teens turn to pills, gym to get ‘Insta-fit’
In the hunt for for the “perfect” body, adolescents are increasingly consuming dietary supplements obtained online without consulting a specialist.
Tellingly, teenagers who want physiques like those they see on Instagram in record time are thronging gyms in greater numbers.
Surveys show that over half of them will choose to purchase a nutritional supplement, typically the same one that their peers take. Usually, parents learn about it accidentally and after the fact.
The trend is reflected in the growing dietary supplements industry, which provides numerous “promises” including slimming, toned bodies, and attractive appearances.
The global turnover of dietary supplements reached 180 billion dollars in 2022, and the trend is increasing. Along with officially sold codes, vast volumes are transported illegally and without necessary licensing.
In early November, inspectors of the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE) in Athens and Thessaloniki found large quantities of food supplements being distributed without prior notification of the Greek Food Safety Authority and without having paid fees of 479,000 euros. SDOE teams seized 2,247.17 kilos of powder in containers or bags, 128.50 kilograms of pills, capsules, tablets or soft gels with weight indication and another 117,179 kilos of supplements without indication. In addition, they found 8,170 ml of supplements in liquid form.
“Fifteen years ago, when I started working in the field, the teenagers who liked exercise were members of a sports team, but gradually this is changing and they are turning more to the gym,” said 48-year-old Vassilis Roussopoulos, a physical education teacher and psychologist, in comments to Kathimerini. He added that this year the average age of gym-goers is dropping, to as young as 14.
“Children believe, with the innocence of their age, that it is something they can acquire quickly,” he stressed. “They no longer ask us [about supplements], they come to us for confirmation, since they have already ordered them via the internet,” Rousopoulos noted.
