title: Body Size Changes Among National Collegiate Athletic Association New England Division III Football Players, 1956-2014: Comparison With Age-Matched Population Controls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Collegiate football programs encourage athletes to pursue high body weights.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine position-dependent trends over time in body size characteristics among football players in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) from 1956 to 2014 and to compare the observed absolute and relative changes with those in age-matched male population controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive laboratory study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical school affiliated with a NESCAC institution.
  
  
  METHODS
  Football team rosters from the 10-member NESCAC schools, available as public documents, were analyzed along with body size data from general population males aged 20 to 29 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
  
  
  METHODS
  Body weight, height, and calculated body mass index were evaluated using analysis of variance, linear regression, and nonlinear regression to determine the distribution features of size variables and changes associated with time (year), school, and position.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among NESCAC linemen, absolute and relative changes over time in body weight and body mass index exceeded corresponding changes in the NHANES population controls. New England Small College Athletic Conference offensive linemen body weights increased by 37.5% from 1956 to 2014 (192 to 264 lb [86.4 to 118.8 kg]), compared with a 12% increase (164 to 184 lb [73.8 to 82.8 kg]) since 1961 in the NHANES population controls. Body mass index changed in parallel with body weight and exceeded 35 kg/m(2) in more than 30% of contemporary NESCAC offensive linemen. Among skill players in the NESCAC group, time-related changes in body size characteristics generally paralleled those in the NHANES controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High body weight and body mass indices were evident in offensive linemen, even among those in Division III football programs with no athletic scholarships. These characteristics may be associated with adverse cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes. We need approaches to encourage risk modification in the postfootball lifestyles of these individuals.
authors.affiliation: Master of Science in Biomedical Science Program, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Kayla R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: Program in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Jerold S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Harmatz
authors.affiliation: Program in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Yanli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Master of Science in Biomedical Science Program, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.|Program in Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Greenblatt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015992:Body Mass Index; D049628:Body Size; D005538:Football / Q000502:physiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009511:New England; D009749:Nutrition Surveys / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011155:Population Control / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012916:Soccer; D064132:Sports Nutritional Sciences / Q000639:trends
keywords: Division III football; body mass index; body weight; obesity; offensive linemen