Ball park hot dogs may be putting sports fans at elevated health risk, researchers at UALR -- the University of Arkansas at Little Rock -- said in research presented last week.
In findings presented at the Arkansas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance Conference, professors at UALR's Department of Health Sciences have discovered that sports fans may engage in riskier health related behaviors than non-sports fans, placing them at an increased risk for illnesses related to unhealthy living practices, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and premature death.
The research team of Drs. Daniel Sweeney, professor of sport management, and Donna Quimby, professor of exercise science, found that people who are more personally committed and emotionally involved with a sports team have a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) than do people who are less personally committed and emotionally involved with a sports team.
Additionally, the more enthusiastic sports fans eat fast food more often, have diets which are higher in fat, eat less vegetables, eat breakfast less often during the week, and consume more refined grains as opposed to whole grains than those less identified with a team. "The study results also revealed that the more psychologically connected fans are to a team, the more likely they are to consume more alcoholic beverages on the days that they choose to drink than do less excited sports fans.
“Obesity and unhealthy living practices have reached epidemic proportions in the United States,” Quimby said. “Unless we as a nation place more emphasis on preventive health care as opposed to intervention, health care cost will continue to rise.”
She called for the development of successful preventative programming and marketing of healthy lifestyles, and bolstering health insurance to include preventative services.
Sweeney said that targeting sports fans who are extremely passionate when it comes to team affiliations, represents a significant opportunity for health policy makers to achieve a significant impact on the health and wellness of many people in this country.