While scrolling through social media, students may see advertisements for peptides that can be used medically and cosmetically, but are unaware of the risks and benefits.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, peptides are natural chains of amino acids that have a range of effects on the body. Peptides help orchestrate hormone activity, immune defense, tissue repair and growth, digestion and help control inflammation. Peptides can be synthesized in labs and are distributed as medications, supplements and injectable products. Moreover, peptide technology is advancing through improved chemical synthesis, or production of amino acid chains and improved delivery systems. Out of 100 respondents from a poll on Bear Witness’ Instagram, 62% of students have heard of peptides. 

According to Children’s Health Hub, the increase in curiosity for peptides might stem from increasing body image concerns, which include muscle dysmorphia. Muscle dysmorphia is described as when people’s perception of the size of their body and muscles is distorted or reaches a point seemingly delusional, according to the International OCD Foundation.

Biology, human anatomy and physiology teacher Ryan Matthews explained how peptides communicate to the body to release hormones.

“If we were [talking about] moisturizing, it would be that the peptides would signal to the cells ‘Hey, we need more water to come to the cells’, or it would trigger ‘We need to generate more collagen in this area’, in order to do that,” Matthews said. “Peptides really act as a signaling protein in this case, in order to initiate whatever change that they want to make.”

Matthews highlighted that teens using peptide products might not have an effect on their bodies, and consumers should research the products they are buying. However, according to Partnership to End Addiction, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing substance abuse for teens, the potential risks of using peptides include infections at the injection site, long term hormone problems, headaches, fatigue and nausea.

“Now the thing is, if adolescents at this specific time of development, already have a lot of collagen produced,” Matthews said. “They don’t have an issue with that. So I guess a concern I would have is that they might be spending money on something that they’re really not benefiting from.”

According to Children’s Health Hub, some peptide-based medications are FDA-approved for specific medical conditions, like insulin for diabetes. Although peptide products are becoming more popular, the medical world has created safe peptide based medicine like insulin for centuries. These products undergo clinical testing and regulated manufacturing. Makoda Daszko lives with type 1 diabetes, in which the body does not produce insulin, so she uses devices to inject insulin and tracks her eating habits in order to regulate her diabetes. Daszko describes the devices that insert insulin into her body.

“I use insulin, which is a fast-acting type of medicine that goes into my body. There are other medicines like Lantus that I used to use, which is long-lasting,” Daszko said. “So that means that it could go into your body throughout the day, whereas insulin goes into your body right away, so that you could eat something right away.”

Ozempic is a brand name prescription peptide based medication that is FDA approved prescribed by doctors to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Daszko notes that the use of peptides can get out of hand, especially when the user does not need them. 

“It definitely could get out of hand if you’re not using it for something that necessarily needs to be helped,” Daszko said. “For me, I need to use insulin to be alive and function, but for people that use Ozempic, I think that it can get out of hand and it can get unhealthy in that way.”

Eli Stachnick, who learned what peptides are from AP Biology, explains that social media, specifically looksmaxxing creators who are mostly young men, make content about maximizing physical attractiveness and often give wrong information to their audience. 

“I know there’s a lot of fitness or looksmaxxing influencers, and they talk about peptides, and I definitely think it can be harmful because I know that those kind of influencers work out and they eat well and they try to sleep well and they do all these other things, and they aren’t just taking peptides,” Stachnick said. “And so, to somebody who sees that and goes, ‘Oh, if I take peptides, I’ll be like them’, it might not get them the results they want, and it might turn out poorly.” 

Matthews believes that peptide technology advancement is beneficial, but teens should do more research before using peptides.

“I would always recommend [that] before you buy any peptide related to skin, or if it was weight loss, you always check in with your primary-care physician because they’re going to give you the best guidance,” Matthews said.

Illustration by Huda Vora/Special to Bear Witness