Final answer:
Dietary supplements and performance-enhancing drugs can lead to health problems and significant risks including liver damage, cardiovascular disease, and aggressive behavior. Despite potential athletic performance improvements, their use is often considered unethical and is banned in sports due to health risks and the potential for gaining an unfair advantage.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dietary supplements and other ergogenic aids may produce various outcomes, including improved athletic performance or increased muscle mass.
However, they also carry a significant risk of health problems. The US FDA reports indicate that dietary supplements account for 50,000 health issues each year, often involving bodybuilding supplements that have been found to contain dangerous and undisclosed compounds.
Controversies surrounding fitness supplements include mislabeling and the presence of harmful substances such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and unlisted steroids.
Misuse of performance-enhancing substances, like anabolic steroids, has serious, nonreversible, and sometimes fatal health risks. These substances create physiological strain that can lead to liver damage, cardiovascular diseases, infertility, aggressive behavior, and even brain cancer.
Fitness supplements can pose serious ethical and health issues, with some having been linked to liver damage necessitating liver transplants or resulting in death.
In response to the significant number of health risks associated with ergogenic aids and anabolic steroid misuse, many sports organizations ban their use. Beyond the increased performance capabilities, these substances may lead to addiction and a host of adverse physical effects.