It is commonly accepted that "exercise is good for children" but, considering the number of children worldwide exercising, we know comparatively little, compared to adults, about how specific mechanisms influence health and sports performance. There are considerable obstacles that challenge the progress of paediatric research, not least in relation to ethical and methodological considerations. Therefore, advances in the science and clinical application of paediatric exercise physiology, psychology and biomechanics have not reached their potential.
Paediatric clinical exercise physiology has application to the role of exercise in the assessment and treatment of paediatric chronic diseases, the utilization of physical activity in preventing illness and enhancing wellbeing and can enhance our understanding of how sports can be made safer and more enjoyable for our young athletes.
Exercise and Respiratory Diseases in Paediatrics highlights research by various methodologies, including literature reviews, experimental research and innovations, applied to children and adolescents with respiratory diseases. Chronic conditions such as asthma, bronchiectasis (e.g., cystic fibrosis), and those associated with prematurity and medical complexity are worldwide health problems for young people and although management includes pharmaceutical medications, physiotherapy, nutritional and psychological support, exercise has a role in optimising multidisciplinary care. There has been unprecedented acceleration in new technologies and methodologies that promise to facilitate paediatric research and these are explained and discussed as future research directions.
This is reading for post graduate students, researchers, academics and policy makers within the field of paediatric healthcare, physical activity, physiology and the related disciplines.
Craig Williams is Director of the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre (CHERC). As a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, he is a passionate advocate for the health and well-being of young people. He has lectured in Higher Education for the last 30 years and is currently based at University of Exeter, UK.
Patrick J Oades has been a Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation NHS Trust for over 25 years, providing care in neonatal, acute and community settings. He has a specialist interest in paediatric pulmonology and was Clinical Director of the Exeter Cystic Fibrosis Center and the SW Peninsula Cystic Fibrosis Services in the UK for more than a decade. As an advocate for the role of exercise in medicine, he has collaborated with the University of Exeter CHERC, to promote joint working and innovation.
