We had an opportunity to sit down and talk to former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward last week. One of the things we talked about was Ward’s work with The NFL Alumni Association on their Huddle Up: Let’s Talk About Obesity campaign. It is designed to help educate fans and former players about the impact of obesity on our health and wellness.
Buy Steelers Tickets“Yeah, I wanted to, you know, collaborate, enjoying the, let’s talk about obesity campaign by the NFL Alumni Association that educates our fans and of course former players about the impact of obesity on our health and wellness,” Ward said. “When you retire, you get away from football and you’re retired and you know, you start to have those binges, times where you’re just eating a lot of stuff that you’re really not supposed to be eating.”
According to Ward, 42 percent of Americans are obese and more than half of the former NFL player community. Obesity is often considered a lifestyle issue rather than a disease, even though it’s linked to more than 60 other health conditions that can impact our physical and emotional well-being. When left untreated, obesity can contribute to complications like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
For Ward, it is even more personal when it comes to his former teammates.
“And you know, for a lot of my old teammates, we always have, we had a competition who’s gonna look the best when we come back to those Super Bowl reunions.”
