Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2008 Oct-Dec;43(6):608-16.
doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-43.6.608.

Presence of metabolic syndrome in football linemen

Jackie L Buell  1 , Doug Calland, Fiona Hanks, Bruce Johnston, Benjamin Pester, Robert Sweeney, Robert Thorne
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Presence of metabolic syndrome in football linemen

Jackie L Buell et al. J Athl Train. 2008 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

Context: Metabolic syndrome is a clustering of symptoms associated with abdominal obesity that demonstrates a high risk for cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To evaluate football linemen in National Collegiate Athletic Association Divisions I, II, and III schools for the presence of metabolic syndrome according to the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute criteria as well as to document other related biomarkers.

Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Setting: Three university locations on the first full day of football camp in early morning.

Patients or other participants: Of 76 football linemen, 70 were able to provide blood samples.

Main outcome measure(s): Height, mass, blood pressure, upper-body skinfolds, and waist circumference were measured at various stations. Two small venous samples of blood were collected and analyzed in a hospital laboratory for fasting insulin, glucose, high-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, and glycosylated hemoglobin. The last station was a verbal family history for cardiovascular disease and diabetes; also, athletes filled out a nutrition attitudes questionnaire.

Results: Of the 70 athletes, 34 were identified as having metabolic syndrome according to measures of blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting glucose, high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides. The mean total cholesterol-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio for the group was 4.95, with 32 participants displaying values higher than 5.0. Twelve volunteers had total cholesterol levels greater than 200 mmol/L, 15 had high levels of C-reactive protein, and 9 had slightly elevated levels of glycosylated hemoglobin.

Conclusions: Although athletes might be assumed to be protected from risks of cardiovascular disease, we found a high incidence of metabolic syndrome and other associated adverse biomarkers for heart disease in collegiate football linemen. Early screening, awareness, and intervention may have favorable effects on the overall health outcomes of football linemen.

Keywords: C-reactive protein; dyslipidemia; football players; hypertension; insulin; obesity.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Malina R.M, Morano P.J, Barron M, et al. Overweight and obesity among youth participants in American football. J Pediatr. 2007;151(4):378–382. - PubMed
    1. Harp J.B, Hecht L. Obesity in the National Football League. JAMA. 2005;293:1061–1062. - PubMed
    1. Laurson K.R, Eisenmann J.C. Prevalence of overweight among high school football linemen. JAMA. 2007;297(4):363–364. - PubMed
    1. Reinberg S. Ex-NFL linemen prone to heart disease. HealthDay News. http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/news-29499-31.html. Accessed March 22, 2007.
    1. Grundy S.M, Cleeman J.I, Daniels S.R. Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: an American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute scientific statement. Circulation. 2005;112(17):2735–2752. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances