Sports Medicine Australia has backed calls for greater anti-doping education in the wake of research released on Wednesday revealing athletes as young as 12 are using performance- or image-enhancing drugs.

The three-year study interviewed more than 900 athletes between the ages of 12 and 17 and found about 4 per cent of elite junior athletes were using performance- or image-enhancing drugs.

SMA chief executive Nello Marino said the findings of the study by the University of Canberra and Griffith University were troubling and highlighted the need for more funding and support for drug education programs in junior sport.

"I think what's most concerning is the perception young athletes have about drug taking and supplements," he said.

"Our concern is that there shouldn't be a need for any athlete to take performance-enhancing drugs. In this instance, as young as 12, we think there are a whole lot of things young athletes can be doing to improve their performance without necessarily taking a banned or a dangerous substance."

Mr Marino said there was a need for stronger education programs to empower young athletes to make the right choices, but he did not think greater drug testing would solve the problem.

"We don't advocate testing at that age and we don't think greater scrutiny is the answer to the problem we appear to be seeing here," he said.

"We'd rather see children being given better decision-making qualities and greater support around them by having the right access to the right personnel, whether that be a dietitian or a medical professional or otherwise, but being able to consult with those sorts of people and get the support of their parents to make those right decisions."

Mr Marino said increased drug testing of young elite athletes was not a "sustainable" approach.

"We're not trying to flush out drug cheats here, we're not trying to identify people that are playing professional sport. We're really keen to make sure we do everything we can to try and stop them make those decisions and give them the right tools to make the right decision," he said.

Report co-author and University of Canberra associate professor in psychology Stephen Moston said young athletes believed about a third of adult elite athletes took performance-enhancing drugs.

Mr Marino said the research highlighted there was still much work to be done to tackle the problem of doping in sport.

"It's a sad indictment that unfortunately the message that appears to be in place is that a number of people need to take substances to improve or have their optimum performance," he said.

"We want to get messages to young athletes that they can improve performance by doing things like having appropriate diets, having appropriate people around them like quality health professionals, having access to the right information that enables them to improve their performance."

The study was presented at the University of Canberra on Wednesday evening.