This title is directed primarily towards health care professionals outside of the United States. It starts with the origin of life and ends with the mechanisms that make muscles adapt to different forms of training. In between, it considers how evidence has been obtained about the extent of genetic influence on human capacities, how muscles and their fibres are studied for general properties and individual differences, and how molecular biological techniques have been combined with physiological ones to produce the new discipline of molecular exercise physiology. This is the first book on such topics written specifically for modules in exercise and sport science at final year Hons BSc and taught MSc levels.

Genetics of Fitness and Physical Performance is the first comprehensive reference on the role of the genes in influencing individual variation in fitness and performance. This essential compendium reviews the past 25 years of accumulated evidence on the genetic basis of health- and performance-related fitness phenotypes. Focusing on the interests of sport scientists, the authors provide insight into the significance of this research on nearly every aspect of the study of human physical activity. The book presents the biological basis of heredity and explains the concepts and methods of genetic epidemiology and molecular biology that are necessary to understand this specialized field. With the rapid advances in molecular biology and the paradigms of human genetics, exercise scientists face a dynamic and vibrant new field. This book offers readers new opportunities to better understand atherosclerosis, noninsulin dependent diabetes, obesity, and hypertension by searching for single gene effects and identifying susceptibility genes. The authors review the evidence on the role of the genes for human traits as it pertains to the exercise science field. And they explore the scientific, practical, and ethical issues that confront exercise scientists as progress is made in this field. Genetics of Fitness and Physical Performance is vital reading for scholars in the field of exercise and sport science to understand how recent discoveries in genetics might shape their future research.

Fully revised and expanded, the second edition of Molecular Exercise Physiology offers a student-friendly introduction. It introduces a history documenting the emergence of molecular biology techniques to investigate exercise physiology, the methodology used, exercise genetics and epigenetics, and the molecular mechanisms that lead to adaptation after different types of exercise, with explicit links to outcomes in sport performance, nutrition, physical activity and clinical exercise. Structured around key topics in sport and exercise science and featuring contributions from pioneering scientists, such as Nobel Prize winners, this edition includes new chapters based on cutting-edge research in epigenetics and muscle memory, satellite cells, exercise in cancer, at altitude, and in hot and cold climates. Chapters include learning objectives, structured guides to further reading, review questions, overviews of work by key researchers and box discussions from important pioneers in the field, making it a complete resource for any molecular exercise physiology course. The book includes cell and molecular biology laboratory methods for dissertation and research projects in molecular exercise physiology and muscle physiology. This book is essential reading for upper-level undergraduate or postgraduate courses in cellular and molecular exercise physiology and muscle physiology. It is a valuable resource for any student with an advanced interest in exercise physiology in both sport performance and clinical settings.

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.

Can health-care costs be reduced by increasing the overall level of physical activity? What part does heredity play in physical fitness? How does exercise affect the immune system? What is the relationship between physical activity and hypertension?