Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
In an investigation of head impact burden and change in neurocognitive function during a season of youth football, researchers find that sub-concussive impacts are not correlated with worsening performance in neurocognitive function.
[...] A research team, led by Sean Rose, MD, pediatric sports neurologist and co-director of the Complex Concussion Clinic at Nationwide Children's Hospital, followed 112 youth football players age 9-18 during the 2016 season in a prospective study.
"When trying to determine the chronic effects of repetitive sub-concussive head impacts, prospective outcomes studies are an important complement to the existing retrospective studies," says Dr. Rose. "In this study of primary school and high school football players, a battery of neurocognitive outcomes tests did not detect any worsening of performance associated with cumulative head impacts."
[...] In their secondary analysis, they found that younger age and reported history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) predicted score changes on several cognitive testing measures and parent-reported ADHD symptoms. Additionally, a reported history of anxiety or depression predicted changes in scores of symptom reporting.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday October 19 2018, @01:07AM
I threw hunting and hiking in there because it's what I did. And, you mention running - again, that was me.
But, not everyone is the same. I never played football, but I recognize that it is a team sport, and it is a valid, useful way for youngsters to spend their time.
As for hunting and hiking being safer than football - every single year, we lose hunters, and hikers. Especially in the high country, hikers, and especially, mountain climbers get into trouble. Outdoor sports have their hazards.
Of course, the alternative is to sit in padded rooms all of your life. There are few if any hazards associated with sitting in padded rooms.