{
  "abstract": "As clinicians, coaches, researchers and sports administrators, we must have young athletes’ best interests in mind when implementing measures aimed at protecting their health or optimising their development. Systematically obtaining relevant data to support decision-making is generally considered a valuable complement to sound clinical reasoning and application of general training principles, yet some procedures are inherently sensitive. Monitoring somatic growth (ie, changes in size) and biological maturation (ie, progression towards an adult state) are common in high-level youth football (in particular, in boys’ academies). However, popular methods for estimating maturity status (eg, maturity offset or percentage of predicted adult height) require body weight to be included in their equations,1 raising concerns regarding the potential negative consequences of frequently weighing players. This editorial aims to highlight the risks and rewards of growth and maturation monitoring involving bodyweight assessments, critically examining its benefits and potential harms, while providing practical considerations for ethical and effective implementation in youth football.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar",
        "Division of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Department of Exercise, Sport and Lifestyle Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa"
      ],
      "name": "Eirik Halvorsen Wik"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Norwegian Football Association’s Sports Medicine Center (Idrettens Helsesenter), Oslo, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Anu Koivisto-Mørk"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Youth Department, Vålerenga Fotball, Oslo, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Halvard Grendstad"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Norwegian Football Association, Oslo, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Thomas Bock Brantsæter"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Christine Holm Moseid"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "TSG Research Lab gGmbH, Zuzenhausen, Germany",
        "TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Zuzenhausen, Germany"
      ],
      "name": "Kristoffer Skånøy Roksvaag"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Norwegian Football Association’s Sports Medicine Center (Idrettens Helsesenter), Oslo, Norway",
        "Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway"
      ],
      "name": "Håvard Moksnes"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Weighing risks against rewards: a call for thoughtful implementation of growth and maturity monitoring in high-level youth football",
  "uid": "918b071a-7efe-5134-92d0-4d2fc92a1dee"
}