Too Big to Be Healthy? Experts Concerned about Size of Young Athletes
By
Hugh C. McBride
December 05, 2008
In today's popular culture, images of obesity almost always contain "comedic" elements of laziness and overconsumption. Watch most modern American films, television shows, or commercials, and you're likely to see overweight youth portrayed (often for a cheap laugh) as the pudgy, pasty child drinking cola by the liter while fixated on a computer screen, or the red-faced obese teen huffing and puffing his way through gym class.
In these fictional depictions, you don't often see a "fat kid" who is also the star of the football team. But if the current state of America's youth were adequately represented on screen, you should.
Bigger, Not Better
In his Nov. 20, 2007 article in The New York Times, Jere Longman took a look at the increasing size of the young athletes that most people would consider to be among America's most hale and hearty: high school football players. But, as has been the case with others who have examined this group, what Longman saw caused him to express concerns about the long-term health impact of this sport's "bigger is better" mentality:
High school football rosters reveal weight issues that go beyond the nation's overall increase in obesity rates among children. Two studies this year, one published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and another in The Journal of Pediatrics, found that weight problems among high school football players — especially linemen — far outpaced those of other male children and adolescents. ...
While massive size may make a small number of players more attractive to recruiters, doctors and researchers say they are growing concerned about long-term health risks associated with being overweight and obese. Some advocate weight limits for high school football, similar to a cap of 285 pounds for heavyweight wrestlers.
The two studies to which Longman referred revealed a stunning difference between weight rates of high school football players and those of the general public:
- In a study that was published in the January 2007 edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association, 45 percent of more than 3,600 high school linemen in Iowa were found to be overweight (which is classified as having a body mass index between 25 and 29.9) and an additional 9 percent were classified being obese (BMI in excess of 30).
- The October 2007 edition of The Journal of Pediatrics contained a study of 650 young football players (ages 9 to 14) in Michigan. The results of this research reflected the findings of the Iowa study, as 45 percent of the young players were found to be either overweight or obese.
- For purposes of comparison, the prevalence of overweight among male children and adolescents in the United States is about 18 percent.
"There is no question, coaches say, that high school players today are better trained than those who pulled on shoulder pads in the 1970s or '80s, just like their counterparts playing in college or the NFL," Keith O'Brien wrote in the Oct. 5, 2008 issue of the Boston Globe. "But the heft of today's high school linemen cannot be solely attributed to fitness. Mirroring a nationwide trend, many students who come out for football are just plain big - and not necessarily in a good way."
Facing A Dire Future?
It is no secret that a wide range of negative health effects has been associated with excess weight among teens and adolescents.
"Obesity predisposes [young athletes] to conditions such as high cholesterol, type-2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and cardiovascular disease, to name a few," Joanne Klossner, clinical assistant professor in Indiana University's Department of Kinesiology, said in an Aug. 30, 2006 release on the university's website.
But concerns about overweight high school athletes extend beyond the present, as Klossner also noted in the IU release. "It can be difficult as an adult to take weight off after the athlete transitions from competitive athletics to a sedentary lifestyle," she said.
This topic was addressed in 2007 during the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, when presenters noted that in addition to risking sports-related conditions such as asthma, cardiac arrest, and heat-related illnesses, overweight athletes are also prone to developing cardiovascular problems and osteoarthritis once their playing days are over.
And as Thomas Hargrove noted in his Jan. 31, 2006 article on the Scripps-Howard News Service website, the threat to aging overweight former athletes isn't limited to quality of life. A study involving former players in the National Football League revealed that a stunning number of heavy former athletes were dying young:
The heaviest athletes are more than twice as likely to die before their 50th birthday than their teammates, according to a Scripps Howard News Service study of 3,850 professional-football players who have died in the last century.
Most of the 130 players born since 1955 who have died were among the heaviest athletes in sports history, according to the study. One-fifth died of heart diseases, and 77 were so overweight that doctors would have classified them as obese, the study found.
Hargrove's article noted the following findings from the Scripps-Howard study:
- Twenty-eight percent of all pro football players born in the last century who qualified as obese died before their 50th birthday, compared with 13 percent who were less overweight.
- Twenty-two percent of those players died of heart diseases; 19 percent died from homicides or suicides.
- Seventy-seven percent of those who died of heart diseases qualified as obese, even during their playing days, and they were two-and-a-half times more likely to die of coronaries than their trimmer teammates.
- Only 10 percent of deceased players born from 1905 through 1914 were obese while active. Today, 56 percent of all players on NFL rosters are categorized as obese.
As Tony Siragusa, a retired 12-year NFL veteran who weighs well over 300 pounds, told Hargrove, former players are well aware of the risks that they face.
"Do you see any oversized animals anywhere in the world living a long life?" Siragusa asked. "We're pretty much on our own here."
Changing Expectations
As coaches become better educated about the health risks associated with excessive bulk, some are helping their athletes to slim down and are even limiting their playing time until they do.
As Mickey Joseph, the coach at Desire Street Academy in New Orleans, La., told The New York Times, "I once thought the bigger they are, the better they are. Now, the bigger they are, the worse they are. They can't move. They can't get out of their stance. They're out of breath."
Joseph weighs his linemen twice a week, he said, and those who exceed the established maximums don't get back on the field until they bring their weight back into the healthy range.
Safety is an essential component of any healthy weight loss effort, especially those that are undertaken by teens and adolescents whose bodies are still developing.
As the Mayo Clinic advises on its website, effective weight management isn't solely a matter of losing weight, but also involves adopting a plan for lifelong health:
- Be realistic - There is no "perfect size." Consult with your physician or other expert to establish realistic goals that take into account your age, height, and health.
- Avoid quick fixes - Maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong process. Pills, fad diets, and other "shortcuts" can rob your body of essential nutrients, damage your health, and leave you worse off than when you began.
- Stay active - Diet and exercise are the twin cornerstones of every effective and healthy weight management regimen. Walking, biking, skating, and team sports are all great ways to get adequate exercise - and as many formerly bulky football players have discovered, dropping excess pounds can increase your speed, stamina, and agility.
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