The effects of leisure time activity levels on health of retired footballers

Free time is a period of time which remains after carrying out the practical needs of the life (work hours, physiologic needs such as eating and drinking). In order to evaluate these periods of time, the activities that individuals join and choose freely, without depending on any rules are called free time activities or re-creative activities. It is an accepted valuable fact that the free time physical activities protect and improve the quality of life and health. While the regular sport activities providing the cardiovascular functions work healthfully, it decreases the risky factors of hypertension, hearth deceases, diabetes, obese and cholesterol in an effective way. We can categorize the physical activities as amateur and professional. Sport professionalism began in 1951 in Turkey with the institutionalization of Football Federation. Football is branch of sport that stands out on a technique which contains long runs with various tempo and way changing, strength which requires tactical ability, agility, endurance and many other physical features. Today's football requires high level training in order to be successful but keeping the performance in top level for a long time is difficult. Footballers end their careers when they cannot keep their physical, psychological, and social conditions well. There are many researches made about these players which reveal the quitting process and the adaptation afterwards and stated the traumas. Studies confirmed that they used alcohol, drugs and had acute depression, nutrition disorders, identity depression, decreases self-confidence, and suicidality. After quitting the active sport career and began the sedentary life or makes some exercises in the week randomly are something investigating in abroad especially on state of health, physiologic, psycho-social aspects. In Turkey, this way of studies are more based on psycho-social aspects. The health problems and how does attending a free time activity effect their lives on the level of health after quitting the football needs to be investigated.