Question 19M.3.HL.TZ1.20b
| Date | May 2019 | Marks available | [Maximum mark: 1] | Reference code | 19M.3.HL.TZ1.20b |
| Level | HL | Paper | 3 | Time zone | TZ1 |
| Command term | Suggest | Question number | b | Adapted from | N/A |
The use of human growth hormone (HGH) to enhance athletic performance is now banned from most major sporting events including the Olympics. To investigate the effect of HGH on athletic performance, doctors in the US looked at changes in body composition and strength in a group of athletes taking the drug. This was compared with a control group of similar athletes who had never taken the drug.
[Source: From Annals of Internal Medicine, H Liu and D M Bravata, Systematic Review: The Effects of Growth Hormone on
Athletic Performance, 148., 10, 747–758. Copyright © 2008 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with the permission of American College of Physicians, Inc.]
Suggest one reason that it is difficult to detect illegal use of HGH to enhance athletic performance.
[1]
a. occurs naturally so hard to tell whether it has been injected ✔
b. HGH has very short half life ✔
Students were unable to state that the detection of illegal use of HGH was due it already being naturally present in the body.
