EFFECT OF WEIGHT TRAINING WITH AND WITHOUT USING ‘POWER ENHANCING DRUGS’ ON NORMAL MALE SUBJECTS: A STUDY ON HEMATOLOGICAL PARAMATERS

Abstract

Exercising in a gym, largely aimed at getting a better-shaped body, is a long and tiring process. In order to boost athletic performance, many people opt for power enhancing drugs, like steroids, erythropoietin, creatine, protein and zinc supplements. Together with an increase in the muscle bulk, they exert highly undesirable effects on normal physiology as well. In the present study the effects of these drugs were evaluated on the changes observed in the counts of RBC and Reticulocytes, together with the percentages of Hb and Hct. Peripheral blood samples were collected and quantitatively analyzed. All the parameters were compared against a control group. The results showed that depending on the type of PED used, it exerted a profound effect on all hematological parameters and significant differences were found among these groups. The changes suggested that these drugs have predisposed the users to various cardiovascular disorders.