Physical Activity and Health

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.

Written by leading scientists from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia, Physical Activity and Health, Second Edition, brings together the results of the most important studies on the relationship between physical activity, sedentarism, and various health outcomes. The second edition has been fully updated based on the latest advances in this rapidly changing field and expanded to include the following new content:

• A chapter on the physiology of inactivity and the effects of sedentary behavior even in people who engage in appropriate amounts of physical activity, which is an area of growing interest

• More extensive coverage of physical activity, aging, and the brain, including a new chapter on the relationship between physical activity and brain structures and functions

• A chapter on the development of national and international physical activity and health guidelines, which will help readers better understand how scientific findings are converted into practical recommendations

Physical Activity and Health, Second Edition, offers a detailed yet concise presentation of key concepts as well as a framework to help readers relate results from single studies or collections of studies to the overall paradigm linking physical activity and physical fitness to health. For each of the topics covered, the text provides an overview of the most important research findings, discusses the limitations of the current knowledge base, and identifies directions for future investigation.

At the core of the text is a review of our current understanding of how physical activity affects health concerns such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity as well as aging and mental health. The text identifies sedentary living habits and poor fitness as major public health problems and examines the potential of physical activity to prevent disease and enhance quality of life. This complete resource also looks at the evolution of the field of physical activity and health; variations in physical activity levels across age, sex, and ethnic groups; the body’s physiological responses to physical activity; dose-response issues; and the influence of genetics on physical activity, fitness, and health. The book ends with an integration of the issues covered and discusses new opportunities for research.

The second edition of Physical Activity and Health continues to offer clear, user-friendly coverage of the most important concepts and research in the field. Numerous special features will aid readers in their comprehension of the material. Chapter outlines and callout boxes help readers key in on important topics and focus their reading, and chapter summaries, definitions of key terms, and study questions provide tools for review and self-testing. Commonly used acronyms and abbreviations are found on the interior covers for handy reference.

Where other books have simply promoted physical activity for the individual or a population, Physical Activity and Health, Second Edition, completely integrates current knowledge of the relationship between physical activity and health. With contributions from some of the finest scientists in the field, this comprehensive text offers information unmatched in accuracy and reliability.

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.

For four decades, his research has dealt with the role of physical activity, and the lack thereof, on physiology, metabolism, and indicators of health, taking into account genetic uniqueness. He has performed research on the contributions of gene sequence variation and the benefits to be expected from regular activity in terms of changes in cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors

Dr. Bouchard has served as program leader for four consensus conferences and symposia pertaining to various aspects of physical activity and health. He has published more than 1,000 scientific papers and has edited several books and monographs dealing with physical activity and health.

Dr. Bouchard is the recipient of the Willendorf Award from the International Association for the Study of Obesity, the Sandoz Award from the Canadian Atherosclerosis Society, the Albert Creff Award of the National Academy of Medicine of France, and four honoris causa doctorates (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, University of South Carolina, University of Guelph, and Brock University). He is a foreign member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium and a member of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Bouchard is former president of the Canadian Society for Applied Physiology, the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, and the International Association for the Study of Obesity. He is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Heart Association, the American Society of Nutrition, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Steven N. Blair, PED, was a distinguished professor emeritus in the departments of exercise science and epidemiology and biostatistics at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. His research focused on the associations between lifestyle and health, with a specific emphasis on exercise, physical fitness, body composition, and chronic disease. Listed as one of the world’s most influential scientific minds by Thomson Reuters, Blair published more than 700 papers and chapters in scientific literature. With over 60,000 citations of his body of work (h-index of 114), he was one of the most highly cited exercise scientists.

Blair was a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, Society of Behavioral Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, American Heart Association, Obesity Society, and European Society of Preventive Medicine. He was a retired fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine–London and the National Academy of Kinesiology A past president of the American College of Sports Medicine, National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and the National Academy of Kinesiology, he received four honorary doctoral degrees. He received awards from many professional associations, including a MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, an Honor Award from the American College of Sports Medicine, and a Population Science Award from the American Heart Association. He was one of the few individuals outside the U.S. Public Health Service to be awarded the Surgeon General's Medallion.

Steven Blair passed away in 2023.

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.

For more than 40 years, his research has investigated the relationships between physical activity and health. He has been involved at the national and international levels in the development of physical activity and fitness guidelines and recommendations for physical activity in health promotion and disease prevention.

Dr. Haskell has served as principal investigator on major NIH-funded research projects demonstrating the health benefits of physical activity. For the past 17 years, he has been a member of the planning committee and faculty for the CDC-sponsored research course on physical activity and public health. From 1968 to 1970, he was program director for the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He also served as chair of the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which documented the scientific basis for the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. From 2008 to 2010 he was a scientific advisor to the World Health Organization for the development of Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health (2010) and to the United Kingdom Health Ministries for the development of physical activity and sedentary behavior guidelines for the home countries. Currently he is chair of the International Review Panel for the Evaluation of Exercise and Sports Sciences in the Nordic Countries.

He is past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and founder and past president of the American College of Sports Medicine Foundation. He was a fellow with the Exercise and Rehabilitation Council, American Heart Association, and American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation.