Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic. The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents. Educating the Student Body makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed. This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents.

Throughout the developed world there is an increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. Because of this increase, and awareness of the risks to long term health that childhood obesity presents, the phenomena is now described by many as a global epidemic. Children, Obesity and Exercise provides sport, exercise and medicine students and professionals with an accessible and practical guide to understanding and managing childhood and adolescent obesity. It covers: overweight, obesity and body composition; physical activity, growth and development; psycho-social aspects of childhood obesity; physical activity behaviours; eating behaviours; measuring children’s behaviour; interventions for prevention and management of childhood obesity. Children, Obesity and Exercise addresses the need for authoritative advice and innovative approaches to the prevention and management of this chronic problem.

The reorganized and newly revised Children's Exercise Physiology, Second Edition,presents the most up-to-date research, methodology, and approaches related to children's physiologic responses to exercise. The book examines not only the current major issues that separate children from adults, but also the underlying mechanisms of these differences. Readers will learn what makes children different from adults physiologically—such as size, biochemical differences, neuromuscular differences, and lack of sexual and hormonal maturation—and the reasons for these differences. Those involved with young athletes, disease management, and health promotion will gain valuable insight into the physiologic determinants of exercise performance. Children's exercise physiology is a fast-moving field. In the eight years since the first edition of this book was published, much new information has surfaced. This streamlined new edition contains 13 instead of 15 chapters, an introduction, and updated features: -Chapter objectives, discussion questions and research directions, and a glossary of terms promote learning. -A reorganized table of contents improves the flow from chapter to chapter. -A new final chapter covers the role of the central nervous system. Also included is in-depth discussion of the determinants of aerobic fitness and VO2 kinetics and the significance of maximal aerobic power in children. With improved chapters on thermoregulation and metabolic and endocrinologic responses to exercise, you can be confident you're getting the latest information with Children's Exercise Physiology, Second Edition.

How to develop coordination and physical skills in young athletes.

The XIXth International Symposium of the European Group of Pediatric Work Physiology was held in Moretonhampstead, UK in September 1997 drawing together academic and medical experts from 26 countries under the theme of promoting health and well-being. This book contains the full text of the 11 keynote contributions, 4 papers from a mini-symposium on cardiac risk factors in children and 59 of the free communications. These have been arranged under 6 headings: Lifestyle, Health and Well-Being; Physical Activity Patterns; Aerobic Performance; Anaerobic Performance and Muscular strength; Cardiovascular Function in Health and disease; and Sport and Physical Education. Offering comprehensive reviews of key topics and reports of current research in paediatric health and exercise science, this volume will prove a valuable text for health professionals, researchers and students with an interest in aspects of paediatric exercise, sports medicine and physical education.

The 4th edition of the Oxford Textbook of Children's Sport and Exercise Medicine is the definitive single-volume reference in the field presented in four sections Exercise Science; Exercise Medicine; Sport Science; and Sport Medicine.