PRIOR TO APRIL 22, 2024, anyone of any age in any state could buy a weight-loss or muscle-building supplement. This included anyone under the age of 18. Now New York has become the first state to ban the sale of those supplements to minors, both in brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers.
“I am very pleased that starting today young people in New York will be better protected from falling victim to dangerous, under-regulated diet pills and supplements that can lead to adverse health outcomes and eating disorders,” said New York Senator Shelley B. Mayer in a press release announcing the news.
The law comes at a time when researchers and clinicians are building connections among minors, body image, social media, and supplements.
“The purpose of this law is to put some basic guardrails in place to protect children,” says S. Bryn Austin, Ph.D., a professor of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Austin has conducted research in boys and supplements and also appears in Generation Flex, a new documentary from Men’s Health that examines the intersection of social media, supplements, and body dysmorphia in teenage boys.
“Most parents and young people have no idea how poorly regulated these products are or how dangerous they can be,” Austin says. “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 take a step back and ask, ‘Do I really know what’s in this pill or powder?'”
It’s true: Muscle-building and weight-loss supplements do not need to go through FDA review to prove safety before they line store shelves—or pop up all over social media ads.
In Generation Flex, Men’s Health conducted numerous in-depth interviews with boys who have suffered from body dysmorphia, clinicians who treat the most severe cases, and researchers who are sounding alarm bells regarding minors and supplements.
New York’s ban isn’t without its complications—there isn’t a list of specific ingredients that can’t be sold to minors. Businesses that break this law can be fined for selling products that include creatine, green tea extract, and raspberry ketone, but there are many more “muscle builders” and “fat burners” than those on the market, which may make enforcement difficult.
However, some experts feel like it’s progress.
“My initial reaction is I think this is a step in the right direction,” says Brian St. Pierre, R.D., C.S.C.S., director of nutrition at Precision Nutrition, and another expert featured in Generation Flex. “There are too many products on the market from too many shady companies that at the least have ineffective ingredients, and at the worst include dangerous and unlisted compounds that significantly affect the health of anyone, but especially developing teens.”
Of course, a ban on sales still doesn’t solve the larger problem of the social media that’s pumping out images that may leave boys especially vulnerable to thinking they’re not ripped enough, not lean enough, or not strong enough.
And supplement trade organizations are already pushing back on the ban. The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), announced on April 22 that a New York federal judge ruled that the association has standing to sue.
“We will continue to pursue all available legal avenues to challenge this law and continue to believe it unfairly restricts consumer access to legitimate, beneficial health products and infringes upon the rights of businesses to engage in lawful commerce,” CRN President and CEO Steve Mister said in a statement. (Mister also appears in Generation Flex.)
St. Pierre says that in his opinion, something like New York’s ban has become necessary. “Too many teens are not getting their guidance from qualified sources, particularly with the rise of social media influencers. Additionally, the risks have been growing, with companies marketing towards this audience that it knows has an appetite for these kinds of promises.”
Austin agrees it’s a good first step.
“New York lawmakers have taken a bold and necessary step to protect kids from predatory companies trying to profit at the expense of the physical and mental health of children,” Austin says. “It’s time for other states to follow their lead.”
In short: There’s more to come.
Generation Flex debuts in the summer of 2024.
