NFL Players Hurt By Climate Change
In a new paper, titled “Air Quality Is Predictive of Mistakes in Professional Baseball and American Football, the authors make the case that on-field mistakes are not simply made because of lapses in judgment. Climate change can have a role as well.
Air quality contributes to human health, both physically and mentally. Air pollution can cause brain damage and drive other health-related issues,
Very little research has examined the effects on athletic performance, especially in team sports, beyond studies focused on endurance. The research paper examined how air quality affects mistakes made by Major League Baseball (MLB) teams and interceptions thrown by National Football League (NFL) quarterbacks. It also looked at quarterback performance overall.
Quarterback Performance
This work used a linear regression model to examine how the average air quality index (AQI) in counties with MLB and NFL teams is related to errors in baseball, interceptions in football, and other quarterback statistics. The results showed that worse air quality (higher AQI) triggers more errors in baseball and more interceptions in football. It also hurt overall quarterback stats.
These findings point to the fact that poor air quality harms both physical and mental performance in professional athletes. This could go beyond the NFL and MLB.
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