May 9, 2024 – A ban on the sale of muscle-building supplements to minors in New York state, which took effect in April, is a “bold and necessary step” in protecting young people from adverse health outcomes and eating disorders, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s S. Bryn Austin.
Austin, professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED), was quoted in a May 1 Men’s Health article about the New York ban—the first such ban in the U.S. She said it’s time for other states to follow New York’s lead.
“The purpose of this law is to put some basic guardrails in place to protect children,” she said. “Most parents and young people have no idea how poorly regulated these products are or how dangerous they can be. For the state to set these age restrictions on the sale of muscle-building supplements, it sends a message to parents, coaches, and young people to step back and ask, ‘Do I really know what’s in this pill or powder?’”
The article noted that Austin will appear in a new documentary from Men’s Health called “Generation Flex” that examines the intersection of social media, supplements, and body dysmorphia in teenage boys. The documentary is due out in the summer of 2024.
Read the Men’s Health article: Why New York State Just Banned Selling Muscle-Building Supplements to Minors
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New York bans sales of diet, muscle building supplements to minors (Harvard Chan School news)
Photo: iStock/Alexey Koza