Driven by the popularity of weight loss drugs like Ozempic, a new wave of performance-enhancing drugs—known as PEDs—is making its way from professional sports to everyday people, promising faster fat-burning, muscle gains, and even better health.
Ozempic, originally developed for diabetes, has become a household name in weight loss. But now, drugs designed to enhance athletic performance are coming into the spotlight.
Quentin Shores reports - watch the video here:
“So performance enhancing drugs—there's several types. Basically, they give an athletic advantage to the competitors versus not having them,” explained Kolten Wenckus, orthopedic physician assistant and elite athlete.
After recent publicity from high-profile competitions like the Enhanced Games—where athletes openly used PEDs to get ahead—the interest in these substances is no longer just for the pros. Everyday gym-goers are now looking for shortcuts to achieve their “dream body.” The science behind many of these drugs revolves around peptides—short chains of amino acids that signal the body to repair tissue, build muscle, lower blood pressure, and burn fat.
On the surface, the pros are clear:
· Faster muscle gains and fat loss
· Potential benefits for metabolic health and blood pressure
· Some users report increased energy and improved vitals
But experts are urging caution. “It sounds like we're close to getting quite a few of them FDA approved. So, when you're getting these rapid gains in strength, that may exceed the capacity of those connective tissues and gives you a higher risk of a tendon rupture or a soft tissue injury. Right,” Wenckus warned.
Possible cons and risks include:
· Increased risk of tendon ruptures, ligament injuries, or soft tissue damagedue to rapid changes in the body
· Unknown long-term side effects—since most drugs are still in clinical trials and data is limited1
· Potential for misuse or overuse by people seeking quick results without medical supervision
· Hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular effects, and negative interactions with other medications have been documented with some PEDs, especially anabolic steroids2
Wenckus, a national racquetball champion and triathlete, says he sees promising early results from some patients, such as improved blood pressure and stable overall health. “It's going to definitely change how things are... Like I said, I'm seeing good results in some patients and things like that already with their blood pressures coming down, their vitals are stable... I do think that it's going to change things down the road.”
Still, the consensus among medical professionals remains: weigh the rewards against the risks before jumping in. The full impact of these drugs won’t be known until more long-term testing is done.
For now, the message is clear—these breakthroughs may one day help millions transform their bodies and health, but only time (and evidence) will tell if the benefits truly outweigh the costs.
1. U.S. Food & Drug Administration, updated 2024: “FDA Warns About Peptides …” (FDA.gov) ↩
2. Mayo Clinic, “Anabolic Steroid Abuse: Risks, Effects, and Recovery”
