Des Moines Register
10-31-07
Survey: Weight puts young athletes at risk
By Des Moines Register
Blake Hansen steps on the scale and weighs 250 pounds, but the senior
offensive lineman on the Newton High School football team still wants to add 50
pounds of muscle.
Hansen already is among a large percentage of Iowa high school football
linemen considered overweight.
Iowa State University researchers determined earlier this year that 45 percent
of 3,683 state linemen surveyed in 2005 were overweight, according to the body
mass index, which compares weight to height.
There's more evidence that an increasing number of players at the state's 361
football programs are at greater risk for diabetes, as well as cardio and joint
problems. The Des Moines Sunday Register Elite all-state team ballooned to a
record average 224.2 pounds per player last year.
Register Elite all-state linemen weighed an average of 258.9 pounds - more than
50 pounds larger than their 1960s counterparts.
Hansen weighed 290 pounds as a junior, then lost 40 pounds from his 6-foot-4inch frame after cutting down on soda pop and candy while increasing time
working out. But he is thinking about putting on pounds again.
"When you're my age, you don't think too much about future problems," Hansen
said.
Sheri Hansen, Blake's mother, worries about her son's health. Big bodies and
heart problems run in their family. She asks herself: Will her son's good fitness
habits remain when his football career ends?
"As a mom, I think about that all the time," Sheri said.
Athletes, coaches and parents are investing time and money to bulk up. In some
cases, risks may take years to determine.
Preps feel pressure to be big-time stars
First-year Iowa City Regina coach Marv Cook toiled to gain weight as an NFL
tight end. Then he found his magic number: 232.
That weight, Cook said, provided him a mix of strength and agility. Twice during
his seven NFL seasons, he was selected to the Pro Bowl.
Cook now tries to teach players that bigger may not always be best. One of his
linemen lost 20 pounds, down to 210, and improved performance.
"Each student-athlete has to realize what their ideal body weight is, not a
preconceived number," Cook said.
Yet young players see NFL giants roaming TV and video game screens.
"Kids see these college linemen weighing 300 pounds and think, 'I've got to be
that big,' " Cook said.
Waterloo Columbus coach Aundra Meeks, whose team won a 2004 state title,
said the drive to get bigger comes from several directions. Players want to
become starters or lure college recruiters. Parents envision scholarship potential
growing with the pounds. Some coaches want larger linemen who can help post
winning records.
"They all play a hand in it," Meeks said.
According to a study released in August by the national organization Trust for
America's Health, obesity rates increased in 31 states last year - including a
slight increase in Iowa, which is tied for 20th in national ratings.
The weighty trend is evident among high school football linemen, said Iowa State
graduate student Kelly Laurson, who co-wrote the study that found obesity risks
for players.
The average Iowa lineman stood 5-foot-11 and weighed 203 pounds - a body
mass index of 28.3, which is classified as overweight and 12 pounds away from
obesity.
Then, when a prep athlete graduates and reduces his activity level, a heavy diet
can bring problems.
"That next year, if you're not playing college football, you're another obese adult,"
Laurson said.
Waukee coach Scott Carlson said a weight figure can be misleading among
muscular athletes. They may be overweight, not "over fat."
"Lean muscle is going to weigh a lot more than fat," Carlson said.
Cook tries to teach healthful habits to his players.
"It's a daily thing," Cook said. "We talk about it in staff meetings and you stress it
to parents."
Problems come with living large
Bruce Reimers weighed 225 pounds as a linebacker at Humboldt High School in
1978. He grew to 270 pounds as an Iowa State offensive lineman.
During a 10-year NFL career that ended in 1993, Reimers reached 300 pounds.
Now an assistant coach at Humboldt, he struggles to obtain health insurance.
"The lady says, 'What? Six-foot-7is not on our charts. Three hundred and what?
You're obese,' " Reimers said of a phone conversation with an insurance
company interviewer.
As a high school player, lifting weights wasn't the only way Reimers bulked up.
"I probably ate everything and anything I could get my hands on," he said.
Cook said he consumed 15,000 to 20,000 calories daily during his college days
at Iowa, which is more than five times the recommended adult intake. Workouts
allowed him to burn 14,000 to 19,000 calories per day.
He retired from the NFL after the 1995 season and had to adjust. "My eating
habits didn't stop, but my workout habits did," Cook said.
Reimers remains near his playing weight.
"You look at the portions and all of the all-you-can-eat buffets," Reimers said.
"You need to push yourself away from the table, and I know I don't. Then you go
home and say 'Time to go to bed' when really you just ate enough that you
should walk 10 or 12 miles."
Can coaches help high school players gain weight while avoiding obesity?
Reimers said he's doing his part by telling them the right diet and workouts.
"Every year, it seems like kids are getting bigger and faster and stronger,"
Reimers said. "That's kind of what we do here. Maybe it's good, maybe it's bad."