Football and health
Published by Bupa's health information team, healthinfo@bupa.com, April 2008
This article looks at some of the health benefits you can get from playing football.
Regular exercise is good for your health, reducing the risk of many serious illnesses and promoting a long life. The Department of Health recommends everyone to do moderate exercise for 30 minutes, five times a week. Playing football a couple of times a week is an effective, enjoyable way to meet part of this target.
Football can reduce your risk of serious illness
Playing football regularly can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. People who don't exercise at all are more likely to develop heart disease or stroke than active people. The risk decreases with increasing activity - so the more football you play, the healthier your heart will be.
A regular kick-about can help reduce the risk of a host of other serious illnesses, too, including cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Playing football when you are young can make your bones stronger
Bones can become affected by a condition called osteoporosis, which means porous bones. Osteoporosis makes bones less dense than normal bones and more likely to break. There are some treatments that can improve bone density, but there is no cure for osteoporosis.
So it's vital to try to prevent the disease. Fortunately, eating a healthy diet and doing the right kind of exercise can help increase bone mass.
Regular bouts of high-impact exercise - exercises that put pressure on your bones, such as football, running and aerobics - when you are younger, can help boost your bones. Just jumping on the spot would do it - but football is more fun. Regular weight-bearing exercise in childhood and adolescence means you are less likely to develop osteoporosis in later life.
But football isn't the best form of exercise for you if you already have osteoporosis; this is because it's high impact, so you risk breaking a bone. Stick to low-impact activities such as swimming, walking, gardening or golf.
Football is a great way to manage your weight
A balanced diet and regular exercise will help you maintain a healthy weight by balancing the calories you eat with the calories you burn. Playing football is a great way to get that exercise.
A 45 minute game of football probably means you will be running pretty fast for half an hour or more, which will burn about 345 calories in an average 60kg person.
Exercise increases metabolism, so you actually burn calories even when you are not exercising. Not only do you burn off calories during a football match, but you will also keep using extra calories for 48 hours after the game because your metabolic rate stays higher.
Playing football keeps your muscles strong
Muscles become smaller and weaker if you don't use them, so you need regular exercise to keep them strong. Playing football uses your muscles, especially in your legs. The benefits of strong muscles include a reduced risk of falls and increased mobility in later life.
Strength and power are important in football. You might want to work on your leg muscles in particular to give more height to your jumps and speed to your sprints. To build leg muscles, aim to include some strength training, such as squats and lunges, in your regular workout.
Not only will stronger legs improve your game, but building muscle is also a good idea if you are trying to lose weight. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn, even at rest. This means you can eat more without storing the excess calories as fat.
Playing football can be good for your mind as well as your body
As excellent aerobic exercise, football can have positive effects on how you feel. It can improve your mood, raise your self-esteem, reduce stress and help you sleep better. And studies have found that physical activity can be as effective as drugs or psychotherapy for treating depression.
Being a team player can motivate you
You may be highly motivated when you first start an exercise programme. But, as time goes on, it can be difficult to stick to the routine. Playing a team sport like football is an excellent way to stay motivated because the rest of the team is relying on you and supporting you. You won't want to let them down and you will get cheers when you play a good shot - an excellent motivator!
Who can play football?
Almost anyone can play football, whatever their age or level of fitness. You should consult your doctor before starting any exercise programme if you have heart disease, are very overweight, have any other condition that affects your activity or have not done exercise for a long time.
Football is an easily accessible game - kicking a ball around the park with friends is a great form of exercise. There are a huge number of local amateur and professional football clubs, both in the UK and throughout the world.
Football is popular among young people, so it's a great way to encourage them to exercise. Plenty of clubs and institutions hold training sessions for children. Increasing numbers of children in the UK are overweight or obese, so encouraging them to take part in activities such as football can help prevent this.
For more information about all kinds of clubs in the UK, visit the Grassroots section of the official Football Association website.
Preventing football injuries
Muscle strains are quite common in football because of the sudden sprints and twisting and turning that you do. A common football injury is a hamstring strain (the hamstring is the big muscle at the back of the thigh). It's a good idea to warm up and stretch before playing as this may reduce the risk of a strain.
What equipment do you need?
You don't need a lot of equipment to play football. If you want to keep it simple, you only need a ball! If you play regularly or in competitive matches, it's best to buy a pair of football boots and some shin-guards. Football boots have studs to increase your grip on grassy surfaces to improve balance and stability, while shin-guards help prevent lower leg injury.
Key points
- Football is a fun way to get fit.
- Regular football sessions will help you meet the recommended levels of exercise.
- Football training will strengthen your muscles.
- Being part of a team can provide extra motivation to exercise.
- You can reduce your risk of injury by warming up and stretching.
Further information
The Football Association
www.thefa.com
Related information
- Walking and health
- Cycling and health
- Benefits of exercise
- Exercise - what type, how much?
- Energy, exercise and weight control
- Healthy weight and exercise
