American Football: Fitness, Discipline, and Health

1. 1. Mental Health Improvement and Mood

      a. Exercise releases endorphins and makes you feel happy! It can help improve symptoms of specific mental health issues such as anxiety, PTSD, depression, etc. Use also alleviates the physical symptoms of fibromyalgia. ✓

   2. Weight Managementa. There has been a massive increase in the rates of childhood obesity in the last decade, and participating in any physical activity is beneficial to a child’s health. So yes! Play sports! ✓
   3. Concentrationa. It helps you concentrate and even improves cognition later in life, and if you have ADHD, it can improve your attention and impulse control. Great benefits!
   4. Glucose Tolerancea. By improving your sensitivity to insulin. Exercise of any kind helps keep your blood sugar in check, and if you have type 2 diabetes, it helps maintain lower sugar levels too. So it’s suitable for diabetics and non-diabetics alike.
   5. Bowel Movementsa. The more you move, the more your bowels move!
   6. Self-Confidencea. It has been shown that team exercise has a more substantial effect on continuing to engage in practice than individual training. Team sports, regardless of the type, have also been shown to improve self-confidence and lend themselves to a sense of belonging—extremely important things, especially in today’s era of bullying and low self-esteem issues.

How about the health implications? Keep in mind that this is NOT meant to keep you all from engaging in American Football. Just as with any sport, health risks and

injuries are possibilities. But I bet you don’t think of those very often unless it benches your favourite player! . ✓ As in any team, there are differences in the roles a player will have. To make it simple… players on the line of offence and even defense need power. To push the other line, to block the offence and protect the Quarterback from getting sacked! Okay, so admittedly, I’m more of a football fanatic (soccer), being Colombian and all, but I also know other sports too!

So, what are the possible health effects of American Football?

• Obese Range BMI
• 1. Now, another thing to mention is that many football players have higher Body Mass Indexes (BMI). BMI that in the general population is classified as obese (BMI>30). Because of the different roles players can have, a difference in body mass index (BMI) was seen between those who were linemen (defence and offence) and those who were non-linemen. You know, the ones that run to score! The Quarterback, the kicker.
• High Blood Pressure and Coronary Artery Disease

• 1. In general, NFL players were found to have higher blood pressure than healthy young adults in one study. But there have been some differences between the pre-season and post-season blood pressures. It turns out that before the season starts, blood pressures are lower, and after the season, their blood pressures are higher. No clear-cut decision has been made on whether or not these have any long-term health effects. I think, like all things in medicine, more research is needed…✓
• Sleep-Disordered Breathing
  1. Because of the elevated BMI in many of the players, they often suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea. This means that when they’re sleeping, they have a few seconds of no breathing at all (apnoea). A big snore wakes them slightly from a deep sleep, and they continue to breathe. These episodes can also lead to high blood pressure, so it’s not just a breathing problem.

• Concussions

  1. Did you know that a concussion can increase the person’s risk of suicide threefold regardless of whether or not there is any psychiatric history? Many concussions can also increase their risk of depression and even cognitive impairment. ✓

• Spinal Injuries and Lower Extremity Injuries

  1. Physical rehabilitation may be necessary to recover from both injuries.

Next time you watch your favourite teams play and see the tackles, jumps, and sacks, I hope you realize just how much stress these players are putting their bodies through. Admire their dedication to a sport that can hurt them just as much as help them. Yes, it’s entertainment, but it has so much to do with health and wellness, too, just like