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Does the large size of professional football players increase their risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD)? In a cross-sectional prospective study, researchers compared the prevalence of CVD risk factors in a convenience sample of 504 NFL players in 2007 with a sample of 1959 men in the general U.S. population with a similar distribution of race who had been recruited for an observational study in 1985–1986 between the ages of 23 and 35.
NFL players were significantly younger (mean age, 27 vs. 30), taller (188 vs. 178 cm), heavier (mean weight, 111 vs. 82 kg), and had higher body-mass index (31.4 vs. 25.9 kg/m2) than members of the control group. However, players were less likely to smoke (0.1% vs. 30.5%) and to have impaired fasting glucose …