Geneticizing Ethnicity and Diet: Anti-doping Science and Its Social Impact in the Age of Post-genomics

Abstract

While gene doping and other technological means of sport enhancement have become a topic of ethical debate, a major outcome from genomic research in sports is often linked to the regulation of doping. In particular, researchers within the field of anti-doping science, a regulatory science that aims to develop scientific solutions for regulating doped athletes, have conducted genomic research on anabolic-androgenic steroids. Genomic knowledge on anabolic-androgenic steroids, a knowledge base that has been produced to improve doping regulation, has caused the ‘geneticization’ of cultural objects such as ethnic identities and dietary habits. Through examining how anti-doping genomic knowledge and its media representation unnecessarily reify cultural objects in terms of genomics, I argue that Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) research programs in human enhancement should include the social impacts of anti-doping science in their discussions. Furthermore, this article will propose that ELSI scholars begin their academic analysis on anti-doping science by engaging with the recent ELSI scholarship on genomics and race and consider the regulatory and political natures of anti-doping research.

Gen Dopi̇ngleri̇ Ve Sağlik Ri̇skleri̇

“…Doping maddelerinin ve uygulama yöntemlerinin teknolojinin gelişimine paralel olarak değişmesi, WADA'nın bu alanda kendini güncellemesi gerekliliğini de ortaya çıkartmıştır. Bu bağlamda anabolik steroidlerin genetik etkilerinin anlaşılması üzerine 2001 yılında Karolinska Enstitüsü Klinik Farmakoloji Bölümünden Dr. Anders Rane ve Mats Garle adında bilim insanları, WADA'nın finansal desteği ile Çeşitliliğin Etnik ve Genetik Belirleyicileri başlıklı bir araştırma çalışması başlatmışlardır (Hyun, 2017). Bu çalışmada amaç, sporda yasaklı maddelerin kullanımına yönelik insanlarda büyük ölçüde farkındalık oluşturmaktı.…”

‘Personalised nutrition: studies in the biogenetics of race and food’

“…This marker is relied upon even when the objective is personalized nutrition. A salient example can be found in personalized sports nutrition research which relies on studies at the level of population (read: race) on its way to individualized dietary recommendations in which racializing assumption do not simply disappear (Hyun, 2017;Kussmann & Fay, 2008). This background is necessary in order to better understand the subsequent section in which I discuss how structures of race fit into the rhetoric of companies currently advertising DNA-based personalized diet plans as an addon to their ancestry testing.…”