Deaths among bodybuilders has become a recent concern. Some would assume that professional bodybuilders die younger on average. Greg Merritt compiled data to see is this assertion was correct. The assessment of mortality can be complicated. Factors such as biology and environment effect outcomes. The approach was correct in gathering data of competitors. The problem is it only relied on data from the IFBB. Comparing data from other organizations would reveal more. Then a comparison between drug tested and non-tested shows should be made. The samples only were comparing men. Women should be are also bodybuilders. Using them would make more sense. Considering their life expectancy is longer it would prove mortality risk from bodybuilding. The data is comparing Americans, but a portion of the athletes are not American. The narrow focus distorts the information. Greg Merritt states ” both overall and in the modern era, they’re dying at a slightly lower rate than the average American man. ” Bodybuilders are not dying younger on average based on these statistics. The difference might be slight, but the average American man still has higher morality. The information provided could be useful in making the sport safer.
Women are not included in the statistics. A portion of professional bodybuilders are being left out. Women began competing in 1977 and more divisors were added. The larger the sample size, the outcomes might be different. There have been women who have died, but it seems their numbers are lower. The morality rate for the average American man was taken from US Social Security Actuarial Life Tables. The flaw was that some birth years had to be estimated. Exact age has to be known when discussing mortality. Comparisons have to be done with age and birth year. Certain diseases and change in health condition is related to age. The sample was comparing the average American man. Including non-American athletes should not be part of the sample. This is not out prejudice or xenophobia. Rather it is based on environment. The assumption is the athletes from the same country have similar diet and health habits. Merritt seems to focus on the US only. It would be fascinating to see if the pattern repeats for other countries.
Women bodybuilders were not part of the data. Taking all the data on women competitors from 1980 to 2014 could expand the sample.
Greg Merritt does not add this to the data. One issue doing so relates to women’s competition. The Ms. Olympia was absent between 2014 to 2019. The Arnold Classic keeps dropping women’s classes. What a researcher could do is substitute the Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix contest with those years between 2014 to 2019. The best that could be done with the Arnold Classic is to use the remaining women’s classes. The database only has 508 pro male bodybuilders. Merritt also notes they were able to confirm 442 were alive and 66 were deceased. That means 87% were living compared to 12 % dead of the sample total. A 12% death rate is not large enough to show bodybuilders are dying younger on average. The sample total need to be greater than 508 athletes. Adding women competitors would provide more information.
Shifts occur in world life expectancy. Then it can be decreased by particular events or circumstances. Pandemics and warfare can reduce life expectancy. Lack of functioning healthcare systems can also be a culprit. Some bodybuilders should not be included in the sample, due to unfortunate circumstances. Murdered athletes should not be added for this reason. Ray McNeil was killed by his wife. Athletes that died of disease or natural causes should be included in the sample. The reason relates to how the body is directly impacted by bodybuilding over a lifetime.
The average global life expectancy increased in 2010. A large study could examine various countries and see if a pattern emerges.
Unnatural deaths are not the same as a natural cause of death or disease. Life being taken by another person is not the same. This also brings up an unresolved matter. Accidents, suicide, and unknown cause of death are questionable. Suicide could still be included, because there could be a mental health issue related to it. Accidents are unnatural so those could be removed. An unknown cause leaves too much to speculation. Merritt labels this as “unreleased.” It needs to be known what specifically they died from. Doing this and adding women athletes would probably change the percentages. The morality rate was 13 % for bodybuilders and 13.9% for the average American man. The data sets were separated between those born prior to 1972 and after that year. The before 1972 group had a mortality rate 18.40 % ( bodybuilders) and 19.40% (American men). After 1972 era it drops. The percentages are 4.3 % (bodybuilders) and 5.10 % ( American men). Age and health are factors. The sample of average American men included those who are obese or engaged in unhealthy habits ( smoking tobacco). It appears that those athletes born in the 1960s have a similar morality rate as average men. The sample size becomes a problem because the over 60 age group is small. The birth year on the line graph goes back to 1932. Those born between 1932 and 1969 are going to have a higher morality rate based on aging. This is why the lines follow closely for pro bodybuilders and the average American man.
Compared to professional wrestlers, pro bodybuilders mortality rate is lower. MLB and the NFL were also included. Pro wrestlers had a morality rate of 18.6%. An NFL football player has a 5.6% compared to a MBL player’s 4.1 %. Those are still lower than bodybuilders who hold 10%. The average American man had 11.3 % morality rate. That data was narrowed to focus on the birth era of 1954 to 1979. A total of 320 pro bodybuilders were used for that birth era. Only 32 were deceased. That equals 10%.
Professional wrestlers have a higher morality rate compared to football athletes and professional bodybuilders. Professional wrestling could be more dangerous.
Certain sports are more dangerous than others. Contact sports have a higher risk of injury. The pro wresting data only looked at the WWE. It would be curious to see if AEW has similar statistics. Wrestling can cause a number of injuries, but Greg Merritt cites recreational drug use and obesity being factors. Most wrestlers are not obese and their physiques could either match or rival pro bodybuilders. The only way to reach that conclusion would be to use BMI. Using BMI is not helpful, because it does not distinguish between muscle mass and adipose tissue. The NFL morality rate might be too low. The cases of concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy have long term health effects. There was no mention or data of other sports. Boxing can put an athlete at risk.
An accumulation of injuries and poor medical care can ruin an athlete’s health. This happens even with protective equipment
Merritt asserts that the lower numbers for MLB and the NFL are due to drug testing. If that were the case the bars would be lower. The speculation was that MBL and NFL used lower doses of anabolic androgenic steroids. Other drugs such as painkillers, heroin, or cocaine could have been used recreationally by athletes. These drugs are not performance enhancing, rather taken as a form of sustenance. Pro bodybuilder Paul Demayo died of heroin overdose. These instances should be separated from performance enhancing drug use. Compared to professional wrestlers bodybuilders are doing well health wise. Merritt also mentions that insufficient healthcare could be a factor. The United States spends more on healthcare and insurance, but has worse medical outcomes. This is probably amplified for athletes.
The 66 (12%) bodybuilders mostly died of cardiovascular diseases. This included myocardial infraction, heart failure, aneurisms, and vasculitis. Heart attacks were too common. The average American man in the data 29.8% rate of cardiovascular disease. Cancer was higher in the average American man at 24.1%. The difference in cancer rates is linked to smoking. A portion of American are still consuming cigarettes and cigars which increases risks for lung cancer. Kidney related diseases were still higher in bodybuilders. While there was concern about heart, kidney, and liver disease the brain was ignored. Cases of dementia were at 3% for the bodybuilder sample and 2% for the non-bodybuilders. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
Cardiovascular diseases constituted that majority of the deaths for professional bodybuilders (40.9%) . Liver related fatalities were at 1.5 %. Kidney related aliments were at 9.1% . The death rate from cancer was 15.2 % .
The reason this might be lower is because men have lower life expectancy. One has to live long enough to possibly see a decline in cognitive health. Putting female athletes could be a substitute for men who do not make it to age 65. Larry Scott and Wilfred Sylvester were seniors when they both got Alzheimer’s disease. The problem is the sample of 70 to 89 age range is small in the sample. Women bodybuilders would have a bigger sample in that age range. Then it would give a better picture about the rate of dementia. Bodybuilding most likely did not cause their cognitive decline. Liver, kidney, and heart related health issue are connected to what bodybuilders have used.
Human growth hormone, anabolic androgenic steroids, insulin, and diuretics are thought to be connected to bodybuilder morality. Athletes might cycle different steroids combined with other drugs. The use of steroids can increase the risk of blood clots, stroke, and heart disease. Either we can assume the 87% that lived did not use drugs or used very little. The morality rate would be lower in drug tested organizations. The WNBF and INBF would not have a death rate at 12 % from the 508 sample.
Terri Harris and Claudia Bianchi both died from myocardial infraction. This could have been the result of the use of certain drugs. There is no way of knowing for sure unless autopsies are conducted.
Some athletes have passed away trying to be their own pharmacologist. The recommendation Greg Merritt makes is to get doctors appointments and get bloodwork completed. Along with this blood pressure should be monitored. If cholesterol and blood pressure are not in safe ranges contest preparation must end and the steroid cycle must be stopped. Only a toxicology report and autopsy could reveal which type of performance enhancing drugs are more lethal. Insulin and diuretics are worse for the kidneys in comparison to the heart. The IFBB might need to change judging criteria and move to making shows drug tested. Data on the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation and International Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation was not available. If a comparison was done it would probably show that those that compete in the WNBF and NBFF have lower morality rates. Bodybuilding will not cause death; a mixture of pharmaceutical aids can.
Data collection is essential in doing a scientific study. The majority of the information came from musclememory.com. Joe Roak and Peter McGough did most of the research. Excluding women competitors does not help the research. Taking another small sample, it seems that women also have died from heart related diseases. The Saradas forum complied a small list of deceased athletes ( Female athlete deaths ) . These were just 89 athletes. Heart attacks and heart failure are prevalent (13) . The only two cases of stroke were mentioned. The second largest cause of death was cancer (11). A bigger sample would be needed to match the male data set. What it does show is a pattern of poor heart health. Only one case of dementia was listed as a cause of death . Abby Stockton lived to the age of 88 and was the oldest living athlete. A few unnatural deaths happened as well. This included murder, suicides, and accidents.
Cancer and heart related disease were prevalent in the small female bodybuilder group. Cases of breast cancer seemed more prevalent.
Unnatural deaths should not be counted. If the intent is to see a correlation between bodybuilding and morality rate the focus has to narrow. Disease and natural causes should be accepted only. Some exceptions can be made for suicide. Suicide can be the result of mental illness. Shelley Beattie had bipolar disorder and took her life in 2008. Manic depression and mental disorders can drive some to suicide. Therefore, it would not be an unnatural cause of death. The challenge with data collection is getting enough. This report by Merritt could benefit with more athletes included. What the data still shows is that heart, kidney, and liver health must be monitored when competing.
What can be concluded is that bodybuilders are dying at a lower rate. The 65 and over age bodybuilder group does better than the average American man in terms of cardiovascular death . It gets worse in the 20 to 44 age group. Bodybuilders have a 61% morality rate. An improvement is seen in the 45 to 64 demographic. The morality rate is 39 % but still higher than the average American man. Greg Merritt explains bodybuilders under 50 are dying at disturbing rate. Sometimes statistics can be misleading. Bodybuilders are a small percent of the population. Any statistic will look disproportionate to their population size. Only men were used, with a sample of 508 cases. Then there were deaths in the data without a specified cause. The term unreleased was used. This should not have been included, because speculation is not a definite answer. Bodybuilders are not all perishing at young ages. Based on this sample size, it is at a slower rate compared to the average American man. However, the morality rate is higher for them in relation to the NFL and MLB. Professional wrestling remains the top of the morality rate. New policies can be formulated to ensure health of the athletes. Bodybuilding can be done safely if there are few pharmaceutical aids and overtraining is avoided.