NFL and Oregon Health & Science University announce ATLAS & ATHENA grant recipients
CANTON, Ohio ‑ As part of the NFL Youth Football Summit, the NFL and the Center for Health Promotion Research at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) announced today that 40 high schools nationwide will be a part of the pilot NFL ATLAS & ATHENA schools program, an initiative designed to promote healthy living and reduce the use of steroids and other drugs among high school athletes.
The NFL ATLAS & ATHENA schools program is funded by a $1.2 million grant from the NFL’s Youth Football Fund. ATLAS and ATHENA focus on nutrition and exercise as alternatives to drug use. The ATLAS program reduces adolescent male athletes’ use of anabolic steroids, alcohol and other drugs, and prevents the use of sport supplements while improving healthy nutrition and exercise practices. ATHENA reduces disordered eating practices and the use of body-shaping and other drugs among young female athletes, while promoting healthy nutrition and exercise.
Coaches and administrators at all NFL ATLAS & ATHENA schools will receive curriculum training and materials, and athletic teams at each selected school will participate in the program. Schools were chosen based on their enthusiasm and commitment to bringing coaches, administrators and students together to implement the program.
The NFL grant is one of a series of improvements to the NFL and the NFL Players Association's policy and program on anabolic steroids and related substances. It will be used to disseminate ATLAS and ATHENA to 20,000 high school athletes and 800 coaches in 40 high schools during the 2007-2008 school year. Participating teams include the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins.
ABOUT THE NFL YOUTH FOOTBALL FUND
Established in 1998 by the NFL and the NFLPA, the NFL Youth Football Fund seeks to use football as a catalyst to promote positive youth development, support youth and high school football needs nationwide and also ensure the health of grassroots football in future generations. Through the YFF, many youth football initiatives and support programs have been developed, providing youngsters with opportunities to learn the game of football, get physically fit and stay involved in productive after-school activities with adult mentors.
ABOUT ATLAS, ATHENA AND OHSU
Oregon Health & Science University is the state’s only health and research university, and Oregon’s only academic health center. The ATLAS (Adolescents Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids) and ATHENA (Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise and Nutrition Alternatives) programs are directed by Linn Goldberg, M.D., and Diane Elliot, M.D., of the OHSU School of Medicine. The nationally recognized programs have undergone randomized controlled evaluations involving more than 4,000 student-athletes in more than 50 high schools and have been disseminated for use in more than 60 schools in 31 states. The results of the programs are published in leading medical journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. ATLAS and ATHENA are the only programs recommended as model curricula by the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004.
OHSU is Portland's largest employer and the fourth largest in Oregon (excluding government), with more than 12,000 employees. OHSU's size contributes to its ability to provide many services and community support activities not found anywhere else in the state. It serves 189,000 patients annually, and is a conduit for learning for more than 3,400 students and trainees. OHSU is the source of more than 200 community outreach programs that bring health and education services to every county in the state.
As a leader in research, OHSU earned $294 million in research funding in fiscal year 2006. OHSU serves as a catalyst for the region's bioscience industry and is an incubator of discovery, averaging one new breakthrough or innovation every three days, with more than 3,500 research projects currently under way. OHSU disclosed 116 inventions in 2006 alone, and OHSU research resulted in 28 new spinoff companies since 2000, most of which are based in Oregon.
