The Caribbean’s involvement in sport is globally recognised and the progress we have made with limited resources is enviable. As we progress in sport, we need to emphasise the use of our coaching skills, medical sciences, research and education to maintain our dominance in several sporting disciplines. Prior to competing in an event, athletes are assessed to ensure that they are fit and healthy enough to participate.
The Sports Medicine Clinic at the Faculty of Sport, UWI, offers these services. Such assessments are critical in order to prevent injuries and optimise performance. While this duty of care with respect to the fitness of competing athletes is one of the major factors responsible for their high level of performances, a similar concern is not extended to our retired athletes. As a result, many of them develop lifestyle diseases such as diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases.
What studies show...
The human body is adapted for intense and consistent physical activities, which reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, modern technological gadgets and machines facilitate a sedentary lifestyle. Athletes who continue regular exercises after retirement live longer than the general population. However, after retirement, athletes may resort to a sedentary lifestyle, becoming involved in coaching or sport administration, neglecting physical activities.
Researchers such as Basra et al. (2013) suggest that after retirement, if an athlete discontinues physical exercise, they are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases compared to persons who were initially sedentary.
A study done in the 1990s by Baron & Rinsky (1994) on retired National Football League linemen revealed a 52% higher risk of death by cardiovascular diseases compared to the general population. In a more recent study done in 2008, Miller et al. revealed that retired linemen had a very high incidence of metabolic syndrome, almost twice the incidence of the general population.
Unpublished findings in Jamaica meanwhile revealed that retired athletes are likely to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus. Several coaches who retired from competitive sport have developed type 2 diabetes in Jamaica. Also, less than a year ago, noteworthy retired athlete of the USA, former 200m and 400m record holder Michael Johnson, suffered a stroke.
Retired athletes are not the only group affected. Athletes regularly manipulate training intensity and volume to optimise fitness during competition. Thereafter, there are periods when an athlete detrains, during which brief period there may be unfavourable metabolic changes.
A group of elite kayakers were asked to detrain for one month and even in this short period, waist circumference, insulin and leptin levels were significantly increased.
Other studies have validated the claim that reduced physical activities can influence the development of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus in retired athletes.
There is yet no study of the situation with retired or detrained Caribbean athletes. One is urgently needed.
Why are retired
athletes at Risk?
An athlete’s body becomes accustomed to a high rate of energy metabolism and a corresponding high intake of food. When an athlete exercises, there are protein channels (GLUT4 transporters) that open in the muscle cells to facilitate the uptake of glucose in the cells. This reduces the blood glucose levels and makes the body less dependent on insulin. That is why exercise is a very useful and effective treatment method for patients living with diabetes. When an athlete retires, the body is still ‘expecting’ high energy utilisation and the diet of the athletes is unlikely to decrease in quantities proportional to the reduction in exercise. This forces the cells to become more dependent on insulin for glucose absorption and there is an increase in fat and a decrease in muscles (which burns energy much faster). More insulin needs to be secreted by the pancreas and eventually cells become less sensitive to insulin, resulting in metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
A retired Jamaican athlete, Bert Cameron, said, “After I retired from track and field in 1992 and was less physically active, the tiredness would persist and four years later I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes” (Jamaica Observer, 2013).
What can we do?
It is clear that the health of our athletes after retirement deserves some attention. Research is needed to quantify the exercise and nutritional requirements necessary to prevent or minimise CVDs and type 2 diabetes mellitus in retired athletes. It is critical that after retirement, athletes continue consistent exercise programmes and make dietary adjustments. Retired athletes have a wealth of experience needed to ensure the Caribbean stays on track in the race to dominance. The longer we have them around the more they can contribute, whether it is through sport administration, coaching, commentaries or analysis. This area needs an urgent focus in Caribbean sport.
Dr Aldeam Facey is at the Mona Academy of Sport. He can be reached at aldeam.facey02@uwimona.edu.jm.
