The human body is designed for activity. For most of our history, physical activity was required for survival, but technological advances have eliminated much of the need for hard physical labor. As our activity levels have dropped, it has become clear that a physically inactive lifestyle can lead to a host of health problems. Physical Activity and Health, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive treatment of the research on the benefits of a physically active lifestyle in comparison with the harmful consequences of physical inactivity.
Part I: History and Current Status of the Study of Physical Activity and Health
Chapter 1: Why Study Physical Activity and Health?
Chapter 2: Historical Perspectives on Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health
Chapter 3: Physical Activity and Fitness With Age, Sex, and Ethnic Differences
Chapter 4: Sedentary Behavior and Inactivity Physiology
Part II: Effects of Physical Activity on the Human Organism
Chapter 5: Metabolic, Cardiovascular, and Respiratory Responses to Physical Activity
Chapter 6: Acute Responses to Physical Activity and Exercise
Chapter 7: Hormonal Response to Regular Physical Activity
Chapter 8: Skeletal Muscle Adaptation to Regular Physical Activity
Chapter 9: Response of Liver, Kidney, and Other Organs and Tissues to Regular Physical Activity
Part III: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health
Chapter 10: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Mortality Rates
Chapter 11: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Cardiac, Vascular, and Pulmonary Morbidities
Chapter 12: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Obesity
Chapter 13: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Diabetes Mellitus
Chapter 14: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Cancer
Chapter 15: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Joint and Bone Health
Chapter 16: Physical Activity, Muscular Fitness, and Health
Chapter 17: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Children
Chapter 18: Risks of Physical Activity
Part IV: Physical Activity, Fitness, Aging, and Brain Functions
Chapter 19: Physical Activity, Fitness, and Aging
Chapter 20: Physical Activity and Brain Functions
Chapter 21: Exercise and Its Effects on Mental Health
Part V: How Much Is Required and How Do We Get There?
Chapter 22: Dose–Response Issues in Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health
Chapter 23: From Science to Physical Activity Guidelines
Part VI: New Challenges and Opportunities
Chapter 24: Genetic Differences in the Relationships Among Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health
Chapter 25: An Integrated View of Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health
Claude Bouchard, PhD, is the director of the Human Genomics Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, a campus of the Louisiana State University System, where he also holds the John W. Barton Sr. chair in genetics and nutrition. He was director of the Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory at Laval University, Quebec City, Canada, for over 20 years. Dr. Bouchard holds a BPed from Laval University, an MSc in exercise physiology from the University of Oregon at Eugene, and a PhD in population genetics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Steven N. Blair, PED, is a professor at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. His research focuses on the associations between lifestyle and health, with a specific emphasis on exercise, physical fitness, body composition, and chronic disease.
William L. Haskell, PhD, is emeritus professor of medicine in the Stanford Prevention Research Center and the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine. He holds an honorary MD degree from Linkoping University in Sweden.