Abstract
Professional athletes provide high-profile role models of health and human performance. Increased body mass can be adaptive for human performance but also presents a health threat. This paper examines 145 years of data on body mass in 17,918 male professional baseball players in the United States at the time of their professional debut. Both height and weight at debut have increased over time. Controlling for age at debut, players debuting in the current decade were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than at any time in history. The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased to approximately 70% and 10%, respectively, while normal weight prevalence decreased from approximately 60% to 20% during that time. The causes of these changes over the past 25 years are not clear although they coincide with the steroid era. These trends warrant further attention because of the potential for adverse long-term health consequences in this population and those who perceive them as role models for health and human performance.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 610-612 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Obesity Research and Clinical Practice |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2016 |
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Keywords
- Body mass index
- Ideal body weight
- Risk factors
- Sports
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
- Nutrition and Dietetics
Cite this
}
Overweight and obesity among Major League Baseball players : 1871–2015. / Conroy, David E.; Wolin, Kathleen Y.; Carnethon, Mercedes R.
In: Obesity Research and Clinical Practice, Vol. 10, No. 5, 01.09.2016, p. 610-612.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter
TY - JOUR
T1 - Overweight and obesity among Major League Baseball players
T2 - 1871–2015
AU - Conroy, David E.
AU - Wolin, Kathleen Y.
AU - Carnethon, Mercedes R
PY - 2016/9/1
Y1 - 2016/9/1
N2 - Professional athletes provide high-profile role models of health and human performance. Increased body mass can be adaptive for human performance but also presents a health threat. This paper examines 145 years of data on body mass in 17,918 male professional baseball players in the United States at the time of their professional debut. Both height and weight at debut have increased over time. Controlling for age at debut, players debuting in the current decade were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than at any time in history. The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased to approximately 70% and 10%, respectively, while normal weight prevalence decreased from approximately 60% to 20% during that time. The causes of these changes over the past 25 years are not clear although they coincide with the steroid era. These trends warrant further attention because of the potential for adverse long-term health consequences in this population and those who perceive them as role models for health and human performance.
AB - Professional athletes provide high-profile role models of health and human performance. Increased body mass can be adaptive for human performance but also presents a health threat. This paper examines 145 years of data on body mass in 17,918 male professional baseball players in the United States at the time of their professional debut. Both height and weight at debut have increased over time. Controlling for age at debut, players debuting in the current decade were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese than at any time in history. The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased to approximately 70% and 10%, respectively, while normal weight prevalence decreased from approximately 60% to 20% during that time. The causes of these changes over the past 25 years are not clear although they coincide with the steroid era. These trends warrant further attention because of the potential for adverse long-term health consequences in this population and those who perceive them as role models for health and human performance.
KW - Body mass index
KW - Ideal body weight
KW - Risk factors
KW - Sports
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84990922441&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84990922441&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.orcp.2016.09.003
DO - 10.1016/j.orcp.2016.09.003
M3 - Letter
C2 - 27670350
AN - SCOPUS:84990922441
VL - 10
SP - 610
EP - 612
JO - Obesity Research and Clinical Practice
JF - Obesity Research and Clinical Practice
SN - 1871-403X
IS - 5
ER -