New Study: Playing Football Before Age 12 Can Lead to Mood and Behavior Problems
By Ken Reed
The research studies that link playing football to brain-related health issues continue to pile up.
The latest study, conducted by Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, and published in the medical journal Translational Psychiatry, found that those who participated in football before the age of 12 were twice as likely to have problems with behavior regulation, apathy, and executive functioning — including initiating activities, problem solving, planning and organizing — when they get older. These young football players were also three times as likely to suffer from depression in subsequent years.
“Between the ages of 10 and 12, there is this period of incredible development of the brain,” said Dr. Robert Stern, the director of clinical research at Boston’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, who co-authored the study. “It makes sense that children whose brains are rapidly developing should not be hitting their heads over and over again.”
It’s important to note that the findings weren’t limited to players who had suffered concussions while playing football. Stern says that means the dangers to the brain from playing football aren’t simply related to big hits that result in a concussion.
Repetitive, sub-concussive hits to the head can be just as damaging to the brain as concussions, according to researchers that are looking at the accumulation of smaller hits. Research has shown that football players that show no evidence of a concussion can have significant changes to the brain.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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