They're bigger, brawnier, and faster than the typical male, but are National Football League players healthier than other men their age?



Justin Bannan, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens, participated in the study on NFL players.



Yes and no, according to a new NFL-funded study that looks at the cardiovascular health of young athletes.



The good news is that NFL players have cholesterol levels similar to other men in their 20s and 30s, and their blood sugar tends to be even healthier. However, they are much more likely to have high blood pressure or borderline hypertension when compared with men who aren't professional athletes.



"It's a step in the right direction to have this study," says Justin Bannan, 30, who plays defensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens and took part in the research. "I think the more information we can find out and the more studies we can do, the better."



The study, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is important, particularly as more and more players are weighing in at 300-plus pounds. The extra weight could potentially strain an athlete's heart in youth or even after retirement, and many question whether it has played a role in a handful of high-profile deaths. Health.com: Eat right advice: Fiber, starch, fats, serving sizes



In particular, the death of Thomas Herrion at age 23 has raised concerns about the heart health of larger players. Herrion, who was 6'3" and 330 pounds, had just finished an exhibition game with the San Francisco 49ers when he collapsed and died in 2005.



"He's sort of the prototype of the bigger, stronger linemen that populates the NFL now, as compared with 20 or 30 years ago," says lead study author Dr. Andrew M. Tucker, the team physician for the Baltimore Ravens. "We have so many big, strong guys over 300 pounds. I think that case in particular was important in stimulating the whole study and the investigation."



Other heavy players-- such as defensive end Reggie White-- have also died at an early age. White was 43 when he died from cardiac arrhythmia in 2004.



In the study, Tucker, who is the cochair of the NFL subcommittee on cardiovascular health, and his colleagues looked at 504 active players from 12 teams in 2007. The researchers measured the players' height, weight, percentage of body fat, and other factors, and then compared them to 1,959 men ages 23 to 35 who participated in a study called CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults). Health.com: 20 little ways to lose drop the pounds and keep them off



They found that players were less likely to smoke or have blood-sugar problems than other men (only 6.7 percent of players had impaired fasting glucose compared to 15.5 percent of other men) and their cholesterol levels were essentially the same. However, 13.8 percent of players had high blood pressure and 64.5 percent had prehypertension, or borderline high blood pressure, compared to 5.5 percent and 24.2 percent of other men, respectively.



Tucker notes that the football players outweighed the men in the CARDIA study by an average of 70 pounds and that it's natural to assume that larger people may have higher blood pressure.



"But what was fascinating to us was the category of prehypertension," says  Tucker, who is also the medical director of sports medicine at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Health.com: How to eat out without getting fat



The study found that NFL athletes are more likely to have prehypertension than other men-- regardless of the size of the player or his position.



"So our lean players who play defensive back and wide receiver, they have prevalence of prehypertension just as common as the really big guys playing offensive and defensive line," says Tucker. "So there's something that we're trying to investigate now that accounts for elevated blood pressures in our active players that is not accounted for by size alone-- there's got to be something else." Health.com: Cut up to 900 calories with simple substitutions



That "something else"
How many teams were involved in the research? Whose death has raised worries over heart health of big players? who are more likely to have prehypertension than other men? What is the name of the NFL player that died? Compared to other men, what disease are NFL players more likely to have? When did the researchers look at the players for the study? How many teams did researches look at in 2007? NFL athletes are more likely to have what? The death of who raised worries?
12 Thomas Herrion NFL players Thomas Herrion high blood pressure or borderline hypertension 2007. in high blood pressure or borderline hypertension Thomas Herrion
question: How many teams were involved in the research?, answer: 12 | question: Whose death has raised worries over heart health of big players?, answer: Thomas Herrion | question: who are more likely to have prehypertension than other men?, answer: NFL players | question: What is the name of the NFL player that died?, answer: Thomas Herrion | question: Compared to other men, what disease are NFL players more likely to have?, answer: high blood pressure or borderline hypertension | question: When did the researchers look at the players for the study?, answer: 2007. | question: How many teams did researches look at in 2007?, answer: in | question: NFL athletes are more likely to have what?, answer: high blood pressure or borderline hypertension | question: The death of who raised worries?, answer: Thomas Herrion