Is bigger really better? Obesity among high school football players, player position, and team success.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: American football is one of the most common high school sports in the United
States. We examine obesity among high school football players, and variations based
on positions, team division, and team success. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We used 2 data
sets from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (n = 2026) and MaxPreps
(n = 6417). We examined body mass index, calculated using coach-reported height and
weight, by player position, division, and success based on win-loss percentage. RESULTS:
Most players (62%) were skill players, with 35% linemen and 3% punters/kickers. Most
skill players (62%) were healthy weight and 4% obese or morbidly obese. In contrast,
only 8% of linemen were healthy weight, with 21% morbidly obese. Team success was
correlated with size only for skill players. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is a significant
problem for high school football players. Pediatricians should consider the context
of football playing in assessing long-term health risks for these young men.
Type
Journal articleSubject
adolescentsobesity
physical activity
Adolescent
Body Mass Index
Football
Humans
Male
North Carolina
Obesity
Overweight
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14018Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1177/0009922813492880Publication Info
Skinner, Asheley Cockrell; Hasty, Stephanie E; Turner, Robert W; Dreibelbis, Mark;
& Lohr, Jacob A (2013). Is bigger really better? Obesity among high school football players, player position,
and team success. Clin Pediatr (Phila), 52(10). pp. 922-928. 10.1177/0009922813492880. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14018.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Asheley Cockrell Skinner
Professor in Population Health Sciences
Areas of expertise: Health Services Research, Implementation Science, Health Policy
and Epidemiology
Asheley Cockrell Skinner, PhD, is a health services researcher whose work addresses
a variety of population health issues, particularly implementation of programs to
improve the health of vulnerable populations. She is currently an Associate Professor
at Duke University in Population Health Sciences. She received her PhD in 2007 in
Health Policy and Administration at the Universit

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