According to a research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2008, the larger body size of professional soccer players does not enhance the risk of atherosclerosis or cardiovascular disease after they retire.

Benjamin D. Levine, M.D., senior author of the study and director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, remarked that active players prevent the progression of pre-diabetes from becoming real diabetes by following an active lifestyle.

From News-Medical.Net:

“Perhaps by remaining fit, the players were able to prevent the progression of pre-diabetes from becoming real diabetes,” said Benjamin D. Levine, M.D., senior author of the study and director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. “The prevalence of obesity, using normal criteria, is really high when you look at NFL players.

“But the BMI is only a crude measure of fatness. For the athletic community it may be biased against very dense, muscular people who may have a high BMI but not as much fat. The BMI might not tell the whole story.”

This study was based on retired players from another era. The football players today are about 50 percent larger than they were a quarter of a century ago, said Levine, who is also professor of internal medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UT Southwestern. “Today, there is a lot of incentive for football players to get as big as possible through eating, extensive training or by using anabolic steroids and growth hormones. The criterion for success is that bigger is better.”

Whether current or recently retired players are at greater risk for cardiovascular events or death merits further study, given the larger body sizes of today’s NFL player, he said.

It was found during the study that the retired National Football League (NFL) players had a considerably lower prevalence of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, sedentary lifestyle, and hypertension when compared to other men.

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According to a paper presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Session, it has been revealed that professional footballers who have large body size are not prone to any risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the message was presented in a cautionary as well as hopeful tone but there certainly is good news for retired pro footballers.

Even though many pro footballers are known to have consumed steroids during their active years, it does not increase one’s risk of developing such a disorder. The study was conducted on a good 201 former NFL players in Dallas, Miami, Atlanta and San Francisco.

From News-medical.net:

Compared to other men, retired National Football League (NFL) players had a significantly lower prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, sedentary lifestyles and metabolic syndrome. However, the NFL retirees had a higher prevalence of elevated cholesterol and impaired fasting glucose that could lead to diabetes.

The retired NFL players were assessed by a survey and health screening visit. Coronary atherosclerosis (buildups of fatty plaques that narrow the coronary arteries) was determined with computer tomography measurements of coronary artery calcium (CAC).

When researchers compared the former NFL players CAC scores to controls, they found little difference, with 46 percent of former players and 48 percent of controls having significant CAC scores. When compared to physically active Aerobic Center controls, retired NFL players had a greater body mass index (BMI) and waist size, but no difference in other cardiovascular risk factors or CAC scores.

The condition of these players were then compared to those at the Dallas Heart Study and the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study in which the Coronary arthrosclerosis was determined with the help of digital tomography measurements of the coronary artery calcium. The research brought to light that there is no difference in the amount of sub-clinical levels of arthrosclerosis in the ex-footballers as well as the ones kept in controlled environment. In this research, even the ethnicity and the lineman status was considered. This means that 46 percent of NFL players and 48 percent of Aerobic Centre Controls had no difference in the CAC scores or cardiovascular risk factors.

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Will C. Wood and Vacaville High Schools are among the beneficiaries of the $30,000 fund from the Atlas and Athena program of the National Football League. The kick-off ceremony which was initiated by the program’s co-founder, Dr. Linn Goldberg, was held last Monday at the Wood C. Will. She showed and exposed some of the worse results of using regulated drugs such as steroids. This program will create awareness among students and athletes. It will also promote healthy alternatives such as healthy nutrition and proper training to increase strength and performance.

From The Reporter:

Through the ATLAS & ATHENA program, Will C. Wood and Vacaville High Schools will receive $30,000 from the Raiders organization toward the curriculum and training of the peer-led programs promoting healthy sports nutrition and strength-training as alternatives to use of alcohol, illicit and performance-enhancing drugs for male and female athletes.

Monday afternoon athletes from both schools gathered at Will C. Wood for an introduction to the program as part of a kick-off ceremony, which started off with a slideshow by Dr. Linn Goldberg, co-creator of the program.

Goldberg showed the students how, sometimes subtlety; steroids have been portrayed as a good thing. Some of the students were shocked at the images of men and women bulking up, only to ultimately lose their health.

“It’s important to give kids alternatives to steroids,” he said.

Vacaville Unified School District Superintendent John Aycock and Mr. Frank Marrero, the father of the late Efrain Anthony Marrero, were also present during the occasion. Most who witnessed the presentation of Dr.Linn were surprised to see how both young men and women sorted to using steroids to enhance muscle build-up, strength and performance. Through this program, these local high schools will make a curriculum that will educate students and athletes about the adverse effects of steroids.

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Former Chicago Bear player and Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus is putting his effort and passion in fighting against steroids. His campaign,”I Play Clean,” focuses on the dangers of doping and is basically aimed on high-school students. Butkus said the linking of steroids and sports disgusted him a lot. In a telephonic interview with Reuters, Butkus said “As an ex-football guy, I still enjoy watching it,”

He also said “It just disgusts me and I hope it doesn’t come to a point where I’m sitting there watching a Senate hearing and have them drilling some ex-football players on their steroids habit” while referring baseball’s appearance before Congress. “I want to lick this before that happens.”

National Football League has had a notable share of steroid cases in its history. Shawne Merriman was suspended for four games in 2006 and Dana Stubblefield, who was named the Defensive Player of 1997, was also sentenced two years’ probation charges for his lying about setroid use. And the recent one was of baseball’s highest-paid player Alex Rodriguez, who admitted that he used steroids from 2001 to 2003.

Butkus joined the war against steroids with Don Hooton, who established the Taylor Hooton Foundation for Fighting Steroid Abuse in honor of his 17-year-old son, who became a victim of the anabolic steroids.

From Reuters:

Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, who was renowned for playing with a menacing fury, is putting his passion into the fight against steroids.

Butkus said the linking of steroids and sports disgusted him and the former Chicago Bear is tackling the problem by delivering a message on the dangers of doping through his “I Play Clean” campaign aimed at high-school students.

Last month’s admission by baseball’s highest-paid player Alex Rodriguez that he had taken steroids from 2001-2003 while with the Texas Rangers, shone the light again on performance-enhancing drugs in sports, something Butkus abhors.

“As an ex-football guy, I still enjoy watching it,” the gruff Butkus told Reuters in a telephone interview.

“It just disgusts me and I hope it doesn’t come to a point where I’m sitting there watching a Senate hearing and have them drilling some ex-football players on their steroids habit,” he said, referring to baseball’s appearance before Congress. “I want to lick this before that happens.”

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In December of 2008, a surprising news hit the world of the National Football League as well as several fans of the Minnesota Vikings. Two of its best defense linemen had failed the drug test done. Pat and Kevin Williams were tested positive for a diuretic. Diuretics are banned from football mainly because they can mask the effect of steroids. Although the two have not been proven to have used anabolic steroids, they were given a four-game suspension. Pat and Kevin Williams addressed the issue by suing the NFL. According to the athletes, they didn’t know that the supplement Starcaps which they were taking had a diuretic component and that component was not even listed in on the bottle. Starcaps is not banned from the NFL. The two will be facing trial this coming June 2009.

From NFL Fanhouse:

The NFL doesn’t even claim that they were using steroids, but to them, rules are rules. If the Williamses win, they will avoid a four-game suspension and possibly collect a hefty amount of damages (they are suing for $10 million in damages). If they lose, the Vikings playoff hopes will take a significant hit before the season even begins.

Whatever happens, the lawsuit has managed to put the NFL on the defensive. If the Williamses had not sued, they would have been slapped with the suspension last season which likely would have kept Minnesota out of the playoffs. Now, even if they are suspended Minnesota will have some time to prepare some backup plans. There is no way to really replace one of the best defensive tackles in the league (Kevin Williams) and one of the best run-stuffers (Pat Williams), but with time to prepare, it’s a little easier to get the backups ready during the preseason.

The pair is known as the “Williams Wall” of the Minnesota Vikings. They are not blood related but they can set up one great defense— probably the best rush defense the NFL has ever seen. In fact, other athletes have a hard time getting past these two and their absence in games will be a thorn in the Vikings’ foot.

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A recent survey done on the use of anabolic steroids in the athletes of the National Football League revealed that the drugs are correlated with various injuries and medical problems later on in life. The survey was sent to 3,693 members of the NFL Retired Players Association and about 20.3% of the players from the 1980’s admitted to having used steroids during their careers. That time, it was still accepted to take steroids since testing for performance enhancing drugs in the NFL started only in 1987. Most of those who used steroids were offensive linemen and defensive linemen, and they also registered with the highest rate of injuries including problems with joint ligaments and cartilage.

From CBC Sports:

The injury patterns suggest that joint ligaments and cartilage, rather than tendons, might not adapt to muscle changes brought about by steroids, making them “weakest link in the chain,” said lead author Dr. Scott Horn of the UNC School of Medicine.

The survey indicated no steroid related increase in the risk of injury to the muscle (biceps and triceps) and no increase of injury to shoulders and tendons.

Based on previous studies, the researchers suspected that tendons might be at increased risk to cope with a rapid increase in muscle size and strength.

While there is no information on the type, duration and dosage of steroids these athletes used, researchers claim the finding to be a “snowball effect”. This means that after the joint problems have occurred, other disease entities developed directly or indirectly due to the injuries. These include inactivity, osteoarthritis, depression, obesity and diabetes. Indeed, if you look at the natural history of these diseases, they are related to one another. Many respondents claimed that they have also suffered from these effects after they had been injured due to steroid use.

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Tony Mandarich has admitted using anabolic steroids during his playing days in college.  It’s obivous that all NFL players use steroids, so why is this a surprise to so many people?  Mandarich used anabolic steroids and cheated steroid tests after the 1988 Rose Bowl.  Then again, which NFL players are NOT using steroids, can you name one? we can’t.

Tony Mandarich is just trying to pump up the mainstream crowd for his new book scheduled to release in March 2009, in which he details his steroid use in the NFL and his career.  Obviously he doesn’t have football, so he’s going to make money talking about steroids.

State News: Former MSU football player Tony Mandarich has admitted to using steroids and cheating on a steroid test administered in conjunction with the 1988 Rose Bowl, which the Spartans won.

Mandarich was an offensive lineman for MSU in the late 1980s and was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft in 1989. Mandarich, dubbed “The Incredible Bulk” by Sports Illustrated prior to the draft, was a bust in the NFL during his three seasons with the Packers.

Mandarich tells of his steroid use and the Rose Bowl steroid test during an interview on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” that will air Wednesday at 9 p.m. Mandarich has a book scheduled to be released in March 2009 that is expected to detail his steroid use.

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What a way to kick off NFL’s season!

New York Jet’s running back Jesse Chatman was already handed out suspension for testing positive for anabolic steroids. Ouch!

And for that, Chatman will never see the red zone for four games of the season.

NFL’s official statement reads: “Jesse Chatman of the New York Jets has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games of 2008 for violating the NFL Policy on Steroids and Related Substances.”

Without pay? That’s double ouch for Chatman.

Jet’s coach Eric Mangini’s states on a media conference: “Chatman’s suspension begins on Saturday, August 30. He is eligible to return to the Jets’ active roster on Monday, September 29 following the team’s September 28 game against the Arizona Cardinals.”

Chatman’s agent, Brett Tessler, relays this statement: “Jesse never tested positive for a steroid or any other performance-enhancing drug. Near the end of last season the League claimed he had a diuretic in his system that they said could also be used as a masking agent. After spending great time and money defending his innocence, the League made its final ruling and now Jesse has no choice but to look ahead to week 5.”

From NFL news release, an account of Chatman’s “impressive” career records:

Chatman had 180 total yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Jets in their 27-20 victory at Philadelphia on Thursday night. He ran 29 times for 93 yards and caught six passes for 87 yards, and led the team with 164 yards rushing in the preseason.

After sitting out a year and losing 60 pounds, Chatman was again signed by the Dolphins and revived his NFL career.

Oh yeah, what a way to revive one’s career. A four-game suspension at the start of the regular season? Let’s get it on, Chatman!

And count on more players to join Chatman sitting out as the NFL implements new rules for the 2008 season.  Expect confusion and explicit audibles that could end up in fists flying and referee shoving in the field.

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It takes money to get the message across.

This is the take of the National Football League, and thus it earmarks $1.4 million for its drug prevention programs.

NFL’s ATLAS and ATHENA programs, created by Linn Goldberg and Diane Elliot of the Oregon Health & Science University, target around 20,000 high school athletes and 800 coaches in 40 high schools for the 2007-2008 school year.

The programs’ aim is “to promote healthy living and reduce the use of steroids, human growth hormone (hGH) and other drugs among high school athletes.” Further, the ATLAS and ATHENA programs “will focus on nutrition and exercise as alternatives to drug use’, according to the NFL’s press release.

From USA Today:

Like hundreds of other high school coaches around the nation, William Hughes of Fairmont Heights High outside Washington, D.C., had his girls basketball players watch a short video on the ills of steroids, produced by a national prep organization. The message, he says, just wasn’t absorbed.

ATLAS is aimed at male student athletes, while ATHENA is targeted at females. Each consists of several 45-minute interactive sessions (10 for ATLAS, eight for ATHENA) using a “squad leader,” a student athlete tapped to run each session.

Fairmont Heights is one of the first 22 high schools to participate in said programs last year.

According to Goldberg, the programs’ goal is to “change attitudes by changing knowledge”.
“You can run all the public service announcements you want, but that’s not going to change behavior,” Goldberg says

Goldberg states that the three studies done on the ATLAS and ATHENA programs have yielded positive feedback – they show a decrease in the use of steroids and recreational drugs, and improved nutrition by participants. Testing programs, he points out, are unsuccessful in those parameters.

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