American Football is looking for the perfect helmet

American football is the most popular sport in the United States. The Super Bowl, the final game of the American professional season, is one of the largest sporting events in the world. But this sport has a dark side, which is increasingly coming to light.

In no sport is there as much risk of brain injury and resulting illness as there is in American football. A study conducted by Boston University showed that former players in the NFL (North American professional football league) have an extremely high risk of developing the brain disease CTE, which can lead to memory loss, depression and dementia.

But not only professional players are at risk. Last week, a student was killed playing American football in the United States for the seventh time this year.

A lot of efforts are now being made to find ways to make this sport safer. For example, research is being conducted at Virginia Tech – the technical university in Virginia – into the ideal helmet. Researchers are now calling for radical changes in football, but the NFL is conservative.

Reporter Wouter Zwart reports on the dangers of America's favorite sport.