‘It Doesn't Matter How Big or Small You Are…There's a Position For You’: Body Image Among Female Tackle Football Players

Aim: Neurosensory tests have emerged as components of sport-related concussion management. Limited normative data are available in healthy, nonconcussed youth athletes. Patients & methods/results: In 2017 and 2018, we tested 108 youth tackle football players immediately before their seasons on the frequency-following response, Balance Error Scoring System, and King-Devick test. We compared results with published data in older and/or and nonathlete populations. Performance on all tests improved with age. Frequency-following response and Balance Error Scoring System results aligned with socioeconomic status. Performance was not correlated across neurosensory domains. Conclusion: Baseline neurosensory functions in seven 14-year-old male tackle football players are consistent with previously published data. Results reinforce the need for individual baselines or demographic-specific norms and the use of multiple neurosensory measures in sport-related concussion management.

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Male Body Esteem and Physical Measurements: Do Leaner, or Stronger, High School Football Players Have a More Positive Body Image?

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.25.3.307 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 307-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

David P. MacKinnon ◽

Linn Goldberg ◽

JeeWon Cheong ◽

Diane Elliot ◽

Greg Clarke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Body Image ◽

Body Fat ◽

Bench Press ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Football Players ◽

High School Football ◽

Athletic Competence ◽

Press Performance

This research examined the relationships among body attributes (i.e., body fat percent and bench press performance) and psychological esteem (i.e., perceived athletic competence, body image, and general self-esteem) in high school football players. Structural equation modeling was used to model the relationships among the constructs. Body fat was negatively related to athletic competence and body image, which in turn were positively related to general self-esteem. The role of bench press performance in predicting psychological esteem was inconsistent, however, suggesting that leanness may be more important than body strength for adolescent psychological esteem among high school football players.

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Repetitive Head Impacts in Youth Football: Description and Relationship to White Matter Structure

Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach ◽

10.1177/1941738119865264 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 507-513 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kurt J. Nilsson ◽

Hilary G. Flint ◽

Yong Gao ◽

Leslie Kendrick ◽

Steve Cutchin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

The Body ◽

Football Players ◽

Head Impacts ◽

Number Magnitude ◽

Youth Football ◽

Total Magnitude ◽

Tackle Football

Background: Few studies have examined white matter with diffusion tensor imaging in 8- to 12-year-old collision sport (CS) athletes. Hypothesis: Youth CS athletes will demonstrate change in brain fractional anisotropy (FA) after a season of CS compared with an age-matched noncollision sport (NCS) cohort, and the number, magnitude, and location of hits will correlate with changes in the brain determined via FA for CS athletes. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: Thirty-five 8- to 12-year-old males in a youth tackle football league (CS) and 12 males from local swim teams (NCS) were recruited. Participants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging with FA before and after the football season. Number, magnitude, and direction of head impacts were recorded for CS participants throughout the season. Results: A total of 1905 hits were recorded in the CS group for the season, 341 (17.9%) collected during 7 games and 1564 (82.1%) observed during 31 practices. No significant interaction between group (CS and NCS) and time (pre- and postseason) was observed for FA ( P > 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed a significantly positive and moderate relationship between increase of left cingulate cortex (CgC) FA from pre- to postseason and the total magnitude of lateral head impacts ( r = 0.40; P = 0.03). Conclusion: There was no significant change in FA measurement of white matter integrity in a cohort of 8- to 12-year-old males after a season of youth football, nor was any difference detected in FA between youth football players and an age-matched cohort of swimmers. There was a significant correlation between total magnitude of hits sustained by youth football players and an increase in FA in the left CgC; whether this is adaptive or pathologic remains unknown. Clinical Relevance: These data can be used within the body of knowledge to counsel patients regarding the known risks of youth tackle football regarding brain health.

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Relationship between Body Image and Percent Body Fat among College Male Varsity Athletes and Nonathletes

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1993.77.3.851 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 77 (3) ◽

pp. 851-857 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

D. Craig Huddy ◽

David C. Nieman ◽

Robert L. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Body Image ◽

Body Fat ◽

College Men ◽

Percent Body Fat ◽

Football Players ◽

Midwestern University ◽

Varsity Athletes ◽

Skinfold Measurements ◽

Group A ◽

The Relationship

Three groups of students from a large midwestern university (15 varsity swimmers, 15 varsity football players, and 15 nonathletes) were administered a 20-item questionnaire concerned with body image and subsequently underwent skinfold measurements to assess percent body fat. Scores obtained were correlated to estimate the relationship between body image and adiposity. For the groups combined ( N = 45) the relationship was significant and inverse ( r = − 0.51). For the nonathletic group a significant value − 0.76 was found; for the two groups of athletes there was no relationship ( rs = 0.002 and − 0.059 for football players and swimmers, respectively). We conclude that body image as measured in this study is inversely related to percent body fat among college men, especially among students not engaged in varsity sports.

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Negative Societal Reactions to Women Professional Football Athletes in the United States

Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal ◽

10.1123/wspaj.2014-0006 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 100-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dana Munk ◽

Ramona Cox ◽

Martha E. Ewing ◽

Peggy McCann

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Title Ix ◽

Qualitative Methodology ◽

The United States ◽

Football Players ◽

Professional Football ◽

Contact Sport ◽

Contact Sports ◽

Tackle Football ◽

Women In Sports

There has been quite a surge of women’s professional football teams in the United States; however, football is rarely offered for girls at the youth sport, middle school, high school, or intercollegiate levels. While this lack of participation can be easily attributed to the contact sport exemption clause in Title IX, researchers have shown that litigation has changed the course for women by legally opening doors for opportunities in tackle football. Today, it is more likely the lack of opportunities for females in traditional male sports is because of stereotypical beliefs linked to their gender. Using qualitative methodology, researchers in this study explored stereotypical, discrepant, societal messages encountered by current professional female football players. Findings suggested societal reactions were linked to stereotypical beliefs about women in sports and included a lack of social support, discriminatory messages, and skepticism over girl’s ability to play contact sports. Implications for further study also emerged.

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Subconcussive Head Impacts and Neurocognitive Function Over 3 Seasons of Youth Football

Journal of Child Neurology ◽

10.1177/08830738211004490 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088307382110044

Author(s):

Sean C. Rose ◽

Keith Owen Yeates ◽

Joseph T. Nguyen ◽

Patrick M. Ercole ◽

Natalie M. Pizzimenti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Outcome Measures ◽

Social Adjustment ◽

Neuropsychological Testing ◽

Football Players ◽

Cumulative Impact ◽

Head Impacts ◽

Before And After ◽

History Of ◽

Tackle Football ◽

Neurobehavioral Outcomes

Objective: To determine the association between repetitive subconcussive head impacts and neurobehavioral outcomes in youth tackle football players. Methods: Using helmet-based sensors, we measured head impacts for 3 consecutive seasons of play in 29 male players age 9-11. Cumulative impact g’s were calculated. Players completed a battery of outcome measures before and after each season, including neuropsychological testing, vestibular-ocular sensitivity, and self- and parent-reported measures of symptoms and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Results: Average cumulative impact over 3 seasons was 13 900 g. High-intensity hits predicted worse change for self-reported social adjustment ( P = .001). Cumulative impact did not predict change in any of the outcome measures. History of ADHD, anxiety, and depression predicted worse change for self-reported symptoms and social adjustment, independent of head impacts. When players were stratified into 3 groups based on cumulative impact across all 3 seasons, differences in outcome measures existed prior to the start of the first season. These differences did not further increase over the course of the 3 seasons. Conclusion: Over 3 consecutive seasons of youth tackle football, we found no association between cumulative head impacts and neurobehavioral outcomes. Larger sample sizes and longer follow-up times would further assist in characterizing this relationship.

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Embodied Experiences of Empowerment Among Female Tackle Football Players

Sociology of Sport Journal ◽

10.1123/ssj.2015-0149 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 305-316 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Toni Liechty ◽

Fleesha Willfong ◽

Katherine Sveinson

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Sense Of Belonging ◽

Team Sport ◽

Football Players ◽

Western Canada ◽

Positive Outcomes ◽

Semistructured Interviews ◽

Embodied Experiences ◽

Tackle Football

The purpose of this study was to explore the embodied nature of empowerment among women who play tackle football. Data collection involved semistructured interviews with 15 female football players in Western Canada. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Three themes emerged from the data suggesting that playing football was empowering as women experienced: a) feelings of strength related to the physicality of the game; b) a sense of breaking boundaries as they participated despite challenges; and c) a sense of belonging to the team which led to positive outcomes such as increased confidence and selfacceptance. The findings of this study highlight the embodied nature of empowerment that comes through participation in sport and characteristics of contact team sport that can facilitate empowerment for women.

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