Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a physically active lifestyle affects the health of former football players. Sixty former professional football players aged 40–50 years and who ended their sports career at least ten years ago were recruited for the study and grouped into two groups based on their physical activity habits after their retirement. Health and lifestyle characteristics were collected through a questionnaire to obtain information about recreational physical activity levels, diseases, family medical history, smoking, alcohol intake and dietary habits. Furthermore, lung functions, blood parameters and cardiovascular health were evaluated. Our results showed that body weight and body fat percentage were significantly higher in retired footballers who had a sedentary lifestyle compared to those who were physically active. The absolute and predicted values for forced expiratory volume in one-second values were higher in the active group. Twelve retired athletes were found to have intraventricular conduction delay. The findings suggest that former footballers who have higher levels of physical activity have advanced body composition, respiratory functions and serum lipids compared to former footballers with less active lifestyles. It is recommended that former elite athletes should maintain physically active lifestyles to sustain their health and reduce the risk of disease and disability in the later years of life.
Highlights
Football is the most popular branch of sport played throughout the world and is a physical game that requires high performance
Former football players were grouped into two based on their physical activity scores according to the International Physical Activity Scale (IPAQ)
The aim of this study was to compare some health-related parameters, such as serum lipids, body composition, cardiorespiratory functions, blood counts and thyroid functions, of former football players according to their physical activity habits after retirement
Summary
Football is the most popular branch of sport played throughout the world and is a physical game that requires high performance. In order to play football professionally at a high level, athletes need to train intensively and extremely hard so that they can improve important physical attributes [1]. This training approach causes football players to experience several physical and physiological adaptations. It is difficult to eliminate life habits and genetic factors affecting health, such as diet, smoking and levels of recreative physical activities, as confounding factors and it is difficult to interpret the results of studies to evaluate the effects of high intensity exercises and related future risks of disease
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