Athletes will never get fat? Research: Not necessarily

Athletes often need to engage in physical activities, so common sense would deduce that they should not be prone to being overweight; however, according to a new study from Thomas Jefferson University in the United States published in the Journal of Pediatrics, the obesity rate among student athletes is actually similar to that of other non-athletic students.

For the study, the authors recruited 2,700 student athletes from Philadelphia who had undergone preseason physicals over a four-year period through the nonprofit Athlete Health Organization. The authors analyzed the physical examination data and found that among these athletes, 20% were overweight, 24% were obese, and 14.8% of the athletes had blood pressure levels higher than normal.

The author said that this ratio is actually similar to the health check results of general teenagers and students, and is not significantly lower.

The study was published on the Journal of Pediatrics website

This article is from ELSEVIER Global Pharmaceutical News