Key result
Between 1956 and 2014, the mean body weight of Division III offensive linemen increased by 37.5% (192 to 264 lb), significantly exceeding the 12% increase observed in age-matched population controls.
Why the study?
Do collegiate football players exhibit greater increases in body size over time compared to age-matched population controls?
Observational (n=7,880)
Yes
Do collegiate football players exhibit greater increases in body size over time compared to age-matched population controls?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Collegiate offensive linemen have experienced disproportionate increases in body weight and BMI over the past six decades compared to the general population, highlighting a need for cardiovascular risk modification in their post-football lifestyles.
CONTEXT: Collegiate football programs encourage athletes to pursue high body weights. OBJECTIVE: To examine position-dependent trends over time in body size characteristics among football players in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) from 1956 to 2014 and to compare the observed absolute and relative changes with those in age-matched male population controls. DESIGN: Descriptive laboratory study. SETTING: Medical school affiliated with a NESCAC institution. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Football team rosters from the 10-member NESCAC schools, available as public documents, were analyzed along with body size data from general population males aged 20 to 29 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Body weight, height, and calculated body mass index were evaluated using analysis of variance, linear regression, and nonlinear regression to determine the distribution features of size variables and changes associated with time (year), school, and position. RESULTS: Among NESCAC linemen, absolute and relative changes over time in body weight and body mass index exceeded corresponding changes in the NHANES population controls. New England Small College Athletic Conference offensive linemen body weights increased by 37.5% from 1956 to 2014 (192 to 264 lb [86.4 to 118.8 kg]), compared with a 12% increase (164 to 184 lb [73.8 to 82.8 kg]) since 1961 in the NHANES population controls. Body mass index changed in parallel with body weight and exceeded 35 kg/m(2) in more than 30% of contemporary NESCAC offensive linemen. Among skill players in the NESCAC group, time-related changes in body size characteristics generally paralleled those in the NHANES controls. CONCLUSIONS: High body weight and body mass indices were evident in offensive linemen, even among those in Division III football programs with no athletic scholarships. These characteristics may be associated with adverse cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes. We need approaches to encourage risk modification in the postfootball lifestyles of these individuals.
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Elliott et al. (2016) conducted an observational in Collegiate football players (n=7,880). Collegiate football participation (offensive linemen) vs. Age-matched general population controls (NHANES) was evaluated on Increase in body weight from 1956 to 2014 (p=<0.001). Between 1956 and 2014, the mean body weight of Division III offensive linemen increased by 37.5% (192 to 264 lb), significantly exceeding the 12% increase observed in age-matched population controls.
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