High school linemen are too heavy for their health

doi:10.1136/bmj.39108.435938.BE

BMJ 2007;334:231 (3 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39108.435938.BE

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High school linemen are too heavy for their health

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American footballers have to be big, but someyoung players are so heavy they are putting their future healthat risk. A survey of high school linemen (defenders) from Iowafound that 45% (95% CI 43.6% to 46.8%) were overweight, andanother 28% (26.8% to 29.8%) were almost there, with a bodymass index between the 85th and 95th centiles for their age.Almost one in 10 had a body mass index above 35, the adult thresholdfor severe obesity

These data make Iowa's high school linemen lookmuch fatter than their peers nationally. In the last NationalHealth and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-4) the prevalenceof overweight among boys aged 12-19 was only 18.3%.

The authors made use of publicly available rostersthat included data on height and weight for 3683 high schoollinemen throughout the state. The survey included 69% of Iowa'shigh school teams and should be generalisable to linemen elsewhere.Body mass index may not be the best way to measure obesity inadolescents, say the authors. But it correlates well enoughwith fat mass to hint at the problems that might lie ahead forthese players.