Football has undoubtedly always been an American favorite, often sparking hopes among kids they too could someday wear an NFL uniform.
But as the size of professional football players has increased, so has the concern that it might put them at greater risk of heart disease -- along with other athletes striving for the same size.
The study is in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Measuring in at 6’3”, 310 lbs, for Baltimore Ravens defensive end Justin Bannan, bigger is better.
“When you're playing inside, you know, a lot of times you're taking on two offensive linemen at a time and these guys are huge,” Bannan says.
All football players are getting bigger across all positions, but the most dramatic changes over the last 20 years or so have been related to the linemen. Being larger size in the blocking scheme as well as on the defensive line has become increasingly important.
But as players increase their size are they also increasing their health risks?
As part of the NFL Committee on Cardiovascular Health, Dr. Andrew Tucker of Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore -- and the Ravens' head physician -- led research that assessed cardiovascular disease risk factors in over 500 active NFL players.
The players are extremely large -- and yet the population is extremely active, so there has been on going debate about the effect of size versus the effect of activity on cardiovascular risk.
Featured this week in JAMA, the study found that compared to men of similar age in the general U.S. population, NFL players had an increased prevalence of high blood pressure, but less reported smoking, lower prevalence of impaired fasting glucose, a pre-diabetic condition, and similar blood cholesterol levels, although the players were substantially larger in size.
Vigorous physical activity appears to significantly decrease or lessen the effect of size on cardiovascular risk -- important information for current players and other athletes to remember down the road.
“I don't think you're going to train exactly like you are now when you're retired, so I think you're really going to have to make some lifestyle changes just to have some good quality of life down the road,” Dr. Tucker says.
As a result of this study, research is now underway exploring potential causes of high blood pressure in NFL players, from greater use of anti-inflammatory medications to the effects of vigorous strength training.
CLICK HERE to read the abstract of the report.
