i should have reworded my previous post, to include "fit and healthy"
Quote:
It's true that you can be overweight by a few pounds and still be quite fit. Sumo wrestlers have more muscle, less fat and quicker reflexes than non-wrestlers of the same weight. They are fit, but are they healthy? Not by a long shot. Even younger wrestlers can develop weight-related knee problems that lead to poor performance and falls during matches. Another performance-crippling effect of obesity is sleep apnea, which occurs when an accumulation of fat in the throat area leads to abnormal breathing at night. The result is poor daytime concentration and a higher risk of injury.
The Japanese are among the longest-lived people on earth. Life expectancy for a Japanese boy born in 2006 is 78.6 years; a girl can expect to live 85.5 years. The life expectancy of sumo wrestlers is much shorter than that of the spectators that watch them do battle. Most of them die of coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes in their 50s. During their final years they suffer from gout, high blood pressure and the complications of type 2 diabetes.
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