Use of drugs to change appearance among girls and female adolescents

With the known increase in body dissatisfaction and poor body image experienced by adolescent girls, there has been an increase in the frequency and diversity of strategies used for body and appearance modification among this population group. Despite this, the prevalence of appearance-enhancement drug usage among adolescent girls has been a little studied phenomenon. The aim of this literature review is to search the published research literature from major databases worldwide to examine the definitions of appearance-enhancement drug and nutritional supplement types and to examine reported usage among girls. The review identified several types of drugs that are used for appearance enhancement including anabolic-androgenic steroids, stimulant drugs (amphetamines, ecstasy, and cocaine), diet pills, slimming pills, and laxatives. Nutritional supplement usage included creatine monohydrate, protein shakes or powder, and amino acids. In addition to drugs and supplements, behaviours for body enhancement purposes included smoking for weight control and tanning products, such as tanamins or tanning pills and minerals that are marketed for the promotion of clear skin and shiny hair, such as silica tablets. Skin-whitening substances are used in some Asian countries, such as in Japan, under the product name of ‘Bihaku’. The chapter will also detail some of the implications of these findings for school-based health education.