Students, faculty take action on unsafe dietary supplements

Bryn Austin and Alvin Tran
Bryn Austin and Alvin Tran

October 8, 2015 — Massachusetts may become the first state to regulate sales of dietary supplements marketed as weight-loss and muscle-building aids, thanks to a bill promoted by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. These products, which are not tested for safety by the federal government, have been linked to serious side effects including liver damage, heart attacks, and death. The new bill, now awaiting a vote by the Massachusetts Legislature’s Public Health Committee, would ban sales to minors and would also require retailers to move the products behind the counter for sale to adults.

Bryn Austin, director of the School’s Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED), spearheaded the effort. Austin, professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, joined with community partners at the Multi-Service Eating Disorder Association (MEDA) and the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) to gather research on the health risks posed by these supplements, as well as stories of those affected by their use and abuse. Their efforts impressed Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton), who signed on to sponsor what became MA House Bill 3471.

Widespread access to these supplements is particularly risky for young people, who may be unable to weigh the potential side effects of these products, Austin said. Among teens nationwide, 11% have used weight loss supplements and 5% have used creatine, a supplement marketed for muscle building that has been linked with testicular cancer, according to STRIPED.

In a briefing for legislators held at the State House on September 9, Austin and other advocates presented stories like that of Michael Lee Sparling, a 22-year-old Army private in excellent physical condition, who went into cardiac arrest and died after taking the recommended dose of a workout supplement. The product contained an ingredient that experts say acts similarly to amphetamines.

Mary Gorski, PhD ’18, was among the bill’s supporters who met with legislators following the briefing. “Most members only knew isolated stories of friends and neighbors, and they were not aware that this was an issue that affects thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts,” she said. Gorski, a political analysis concentrator in the health policy program who is focused on children’s health and food policy, sees the bill as a way to help solve an under-recognized public health problem. “This effort is one example of taking a relatively clear-cut problem and working with policymakers to find a solution.”

A hearing on the bill took place September 17 before the Massachusetts State Legislature’s Public Health Committee. Defenders of the bill outnumbered opponents eight to one, according to Austin. It is not yet known when the bill will come up for a vote.

Alvin Tran, SD ’18, aggregated research that was used by the bill’s supporters at the State House events while on a practicum with STRIPED last spring. Tran, a double major in public health nutrition and social and behavioral sciences, served as Harvard Chan’s student government president last year. He hopes to build a career conducting research that will guide and influence policy, he said, and this project was a great opportunity to observe public health in action.

“I saw public health researchers and advocates, along with physicians and people affected by these supplements, standing up to industry lobbyists,” he said. “It was very inspiring.”

Amy Roeder

Photo: Emily Cuccarese