obesity is rampant in football

[Tigermike 2,602]

Grady Jackson

The Packers defensive tackle weighs 340 pounds

Data suggests obesity is rampant in football

Lindsey Tanner / Associated Press

Posted: 6 minutes ago   

CHICAGO (AP) - It's no secret that size matters in American gridiron football, but a new study suggests that a whopping 56 percent of players in the National Football League would be considered obese by some medical standards.

The NFL called the study bogus for using players' body-mass index, a height-to-weight ratio that doesn't consider body muscle versus fat. The players union said that despite the sight of bulging jerseys, there's no proof that obesity is rampant in the league.

But former defensive tackle John Jurkovic said he's seen plenty of evidence that players have gotten not just bigger but sometimes fatter, "big as houses" in recent years because of league pressure to intimidate opponents and win.

"The NFL teams want it because it's working," said Jurkovic, who played for Green Bay, Cleveland and Jacksonville before retiring in 2000.

The theory is that bigger men, especially linemen and defensive players, are better blockers and harder to move.

In the study, University of North Carolina endocrinologist Joyce Harp and student Lindsay Hecht used statistics on the NFL Web site to calculate BMIs for 2,168 NFL players, nearly all those playing in the 2003-04 season.

Almost all the players qualified as overweight, and 56 percent had BMIs of at least 30 - what doctors consider obese. For example, a 6-foot-2 man weighing 235 pounds has a BMI of just over 30. Nearly half of the obese players were in the severely obese range, with a BMI of at least 35, and a small percentage were morbidly obese with a BMI of at least 40.

"The high number of large players was not unexpected, given the pressures of professional athletes to increase their mass. However, it may not be without health consequences," the researchers wrote, citing previous studies that documented obesity-related problems, including sleep apnea and high blood pressure in NFL players.

The study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

Players union spokesman Carl Francis said health and safety are "discussed all the time," and that while some players likely are obese, it's not a major problem.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello called the study substandard and said there's no proof obesity is worse in the NFL than in U.S. society in general, where about 30 percent of adults are obese, based on BMI data. "This was not a serious medical study," he said.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/3430380?GT1=6209

Chewing the fat: NFL's weight problem

FOXSports.com

Posted: 1 day ago   

Does the NFL have a weight problem? Certainly players are bigger than ever before, but how big is too big?

The following are some quick facts based on a weight breakdown of current NFL rosters on March 1.

300 pounders

355 total players (Avg. - 11.9/team)

High: Browns, Giants ... 18 players each

Low: Jets ... 3 players

310 pounders

223 players (Avg - 7.0/team)

High: Browns, Dolphins, Giants ... 12 players each

Low: Falcons ...1 player

320 pounders

122 players (Avg - 3.8/team)

High: Packers, Dolphins ... 8 players each

Low: Falcons, Panthers, Jets ... none

330 pounders

57 players (Avg - 1.8/team)

High: Ravens, Packers, Eagles ... 5 players each

Low: Many teams with none

350 pounders

9 players (Avg - 0.3/team)

High: Chargers ... 2 players

Low: Many teams with none

The NFL's 350-pound club

Leonard Davis, Cardinals: 381 pounds

Ted Washington, Raiders: 365 pounds

Orlando Brown, Ravens: 360 pounds

Mike Williams, Bills: 360 pounds

Brandon Evans, Texans: 356 pounds

Qasim Mitchell, Bears: 355 pounds

Kelvin Garmon, Browns: 350 poiunds

Toniu Fonoti, Chargers: 350 pounds

Courtney Van Buren, Chargers: 350 pounds

Information based on rosters from Stats, Inc.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/3431020

[swensks 0]

"Almost all the players qualified as overweight, and 56 percent had BMIs of at least 30 - what doctors consider obese. For example, a 6-foot-2 man weighing 235 pounds has a BMI of just over 30. Nearly half of the obese players were in the severely obese range, with a BMI of at least 35, and a small percentage were morbidly obese with a BMI of at least 40. "

This, my friends, is hilarious. Ronnie Brown would be considered obese by this study's originator. I would like to see Ronnie Brown's reaction when this guy/gal tells him that he's obese. I think Ronnie Brown might throw him like he did Marcus Spears this past season...

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

When it comes to the linemen I bet if you put them through underwater weighing they would still come up obese. Should have added in waist measurements, as alot use the correlation of a high BMI and a waist 40 inch and greater. For example due to muscle mass Ronnie Brown would go over 30 perhaps on the regular BMI, but he is not going to be carrying a 40 inch plus waste.

[AUslug 1]

The BMI is flawed, it would be funny if someone told Ronnie he was overweight.

[The Prowler 1]

Hell, by those BMI Standards........I'm Morbibley (sp?) Obese.......6' 240. Damn, I'm just a F****** Fat Ass.........Huh? I'm gonna Eat what the F*** I wanna eat and Drink what the F*** I wanna drink.........Why? Because I'm happy with myself and don't care what others think about me........That's how you should live your life. That is how some of the "Obese" people in the Entire World feels.

[Auburn85 413]

Wow! Some of these obese guys(Ronnie) can sure run fast

[Texan4Auburn 1,626]

Hell, by those BMI Standards........I'm Morbibley (sp?) Obese.......6' 240.  Damn, I'm just a F****** Fat Ass.........Huh?  I'm gonna Eat what the F*** I wanna eat and Drink what the F*** I wanna drink.........Why?  Because I'm happy with myself and don't care what others think about me........That's how you should live your life.  That is how some of the "Obese" people in the Entire World feels.

149417[/snapback]

Guess us exercise science majors don't sit to well with you

[kingfish 59]

Texan4Auburn said it correctly when he stated the waist dimensions should have been considered along with the BMI numbers ... for men a waist measurement over 40" is very unhealthy [35" for women]. I too agree underwater water displacement would probably result in a significant number of linemen being obese.

The government in January released the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans which contains some very healthy suggestions for anyone seriously considering what inappropriate eating habits and lack of physical exercise can do to oneself ... early onset of degenerative diseases not to mention heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.

Take this stuff seriously my friends. Let's outlive the other side.

WAR EAGLE!!!

[stoic-one 1,493]

Guys, we used to use something similar to BMI in the service, it is hardly accurate. The reality is that specific gravity testing is the only true way to determine body fat. I have seen guys who were in great shape, and cut like a monster come in over the limit using this method.........

Sure there are some fat guys out there, but half of the NFL..... puhlease......

Grossly unreliable comes to mind..... hmmmmmm

[kingfish 59]

The moral of the BMI numbers is if you are highly muscular with a relatively small waist [you know the chisled in stone physique] don't use the BMI index to determine obesity. If on the other hand you are an ordinary body type the BMI is an otherwise good indicator of overweight and/or obesity.