MEDIA ADVISORY
What: A public forum by the world’s foremost authorities on appearance and performance enhancing substances.
Why: The use of appearance and performance enhancing substances in the general public, particularly among youth, is emerging as a national health crisis. Current research shows that as many as four million Americans have used these substances, which are associated with serious social, psychosocial and medical consequences. Despite this, the health care community has yet to fully respond as protocols and procedures required to diagnose and treat users have not been developed.
Said Don Hooton, founder and executive chair of the Taylor Hooton Foundation and the conference organizer, “The use of appearance and performance enhancing substances has moved from the athletic fields into the social fabric of our society. No longer just about competing in sports, a primary driver of the use of these substances is a desire to look better and to feel better about one’s self. While we are all familiar with these obsessive desires as expressed by behaviors like anorexia and bulimia, few are familiar with the emerging epidemic of bigorexia, the obsessive desire for a fit body. And there is an associated physical and emotional toll for a generation that is relying on these substances as a crutch to achieve their goal.”
When: Thursday, April 27, 2017, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Where: National Press Club / First Amendment Room
529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20045
Who: Speakers and sessions include the following:
Session 1 1:10 – 2:00 p.m.
Scope of the Problem
- Don Hooton, Taylor Hooton Foundation
- Dr. Patricia Deuster, Uniformed Services University
- Brian Jordan, NSF International
Session 2 2:00 – 2:45 p.m.
Medical Consequences
- Dr. Shalender Bhasin, Harvard Medical School
- Dr. Harrison Pope, McClean Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- Dr. Tom Hildebrandt, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai
Segment 3 2:45 – 3:30 p.m.
The only tool to fight the emerging epidemic – education.
What resources/programs are currently available to address this problem?
- Lara Gray, Center for Drug Free Sport
- Dr. Adam Beharry, US Anti-Doping Agency
- Dr. Michele LaBotz, American Academy of Pediatrics
- Don Hooton, Taylor Hooton Foundation
Media Contact: For more information, including scheduling on-site or phone interviews, contact Paul Branks, American College of Sports Medicine’s vice president of communications and media, at [email protected].
Event Sponsor: Taylor Hooton Foundation – Don Hooton, founder and executive chair
Collaborating Partners:
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American College of Sports Medicine
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Harvard Medical School
- Mt. Sinai Health System
- National Center for Drug Free Sport
- National Institute on Drug Abuse
- NSF International
- The Romano Group
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
- U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)
About The Taylor Hooton Foundation: The Taylor Hooton Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is widely recognized at the nation’s leader in the advocacy against appearance and performance enhancing drug use by the youth of America. The friends and family of Taylor Hooton formed the foundation in 2004 after his untimely death at 17 years old following his use of anabolic steroids.
For more information about the Taylor Hooton Foundation and its efforts, please visit www.taylorhooton.org and www.allmeleague.com.
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