Why do professional athletes die relatively young?

[jinduy]

my friend was telling me nba and football players die young. i can see why runningbacks die young cuz they take a pounding on every downk but how bout like nba players?

my friend's theory was that athlets are so in shape that when they go into retirement, they start going out of shape and their body overly reacts to this change.

 

[BigJ]

Especially with football players, they abuse the hell out of their bodies. The partying atmosphere, all the sh!t they put in their bodies (legal and illegal), and just the pure beatings they take on a daily basis have a lot to do with it.

 

[slpaulson]

They get the sh!t beat out of themselves for years.

Plus, you tend to hear about it any time one dies, whereas you'd never hear about a non athlete dying young unless you or somebody you know knows the person, or that person is famous.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

they're in the news when they die young.

 

[Jahee]

All that training etc puts alot of strain on the muscles and nervous system... I'm not sure what the effects are of training all day every day but im sure that contributes to it..

Edit: That and they are in the spotlight so yea its all over the news when it happens.

 

[eldorado99]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
they're in the news when they die young.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Enlarged heart! Years of cardo training at a young age cause the heart to enlarge and when you get older this is a bad thing

 

[LordMorpheus]

Originally posted by: eldorado99

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
they're in the news when they die young.

I'm sure that's part of it, but I've heard (not sure about the accuracy) that the average life of an NFL lineman was around 50 years.

 

[miri]

Uh no

not with basketball at least

 

[Goosemaster]

A candle that burns twice as bright..?

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: LordMorpheus

Originally posted by: eldorado99

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
they're in the news when they die young.

I'm sure that's part of it, but I've heard (not sure about the accuracy) that the average life of an NFL lineman was around 50 years.

And most of them are 300+ pounds and are consuming 6000+ calories a day when playing. They are a heart attack/stroke waiting to happen once they stop playing.

 

[Imdmn04]

Tall and fat people usually die younger than normal sized people.

Yes I know NFL athletes are muscular, but that muscle gets replaced by fat when they retire and stop training.

 

[SagaLore]

Your cells can only replicate so many times due to shortening telomerases. When you're constantly working out, your muscle cells are injured then divided. When you're in the game you get injured a lot which causes more cell replication.

 

[13Gigatons]

1. To fat
2. To much cholestrol
3. steriods
4. growth hormone
5. injuries taking their toll
6. alcohol
7. drugs

That said many althetes take good care of themselves after their NFL careers are over and live long lifes.

 

[totalcommand]

they have big hearts that pump out a LOT of blood with one beat (which is why they have a low resting heart rate). This puts excess strain on their vasculature, which can lead to weakening of the arteries and cardiovascular disease. Marathon runners, who'd you assume to have the best health, have this same problem.

 

[SludgeFactory]

The first thing that comes to mind for NBA players is that tall people have shorter lifespans.

And the big thing with NFL players is that many of them become hugely obese fat cows when they retire because they continue to eat like an active player.

 

[amicold]

Originally posted by: totalcommand
they have big hearts that pump out a LOT of blood with one beat (which is why they have a low resting heart rate). This puts excess strain on their vasculature, which can lead to weakening of the arteries and cardiovascular disease. Marathon runners, who'd you assume to have the best health, have this same problem.

I suppose, marathon runners are messed up the body wasn't meant to run that sort of sustained time at those speeds. They don't have much musculature either so I don't know.

 

[JoeKing]

free radicals

 

[kindest]

as others have said.. heart takes a serious beating from all the cardio which causes it to fail.

 

[OsoVerde]

People putting extreme stress on their bodies are gonna find out a lot sooner than people who aren't stressing their bodies if any parts are defective.

 

[WHAMPOM]

Originally posted by: OsoVerde
People putting extreme stress on their bodies are gonna find out a lot sooner than people who aren't stressing their bodies if any parts are defective.

Little skinny guys do seem to hit the 90's alot.

 

[WildHorse]

No,
that's just a well-known poem,
not a literal fact,
and the "dying young" refers to the athletic ability fading away from a person as their youth also fades away.

It doesn't mean literal physical death.

Go read it yourself. It's famous:

A.E. Housman, To an Athlete Dying Young

edit: link fixed

 

[ForumMaster]

i imagine their cardiovascular system gets quite a pounding. professional athletes put extreme pressure and strain on their body.

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
they're in the news when they die young.

Sounds like the answer to me

...unless the OP's friend has a link