This updated edition features three new chapters and current research findings. Topics include prenatal growth and functional development, motor development, thermoregulation, obesity in childhood and adolescence and more.

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.

This essential new volume in the Encyclopaedia of Sports Medicine series, published under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee, provides a thorough overview of the unique physiologic characteristics, responsiveness to training, and possible health hazards involved in the training, coaching, and medical care of young athletes. Intense involvement in competitive sports often begins during childhood. During adolescence, many athletes reach their peak performance and some may participate in World Championships and Olympic Games at a relatively young age. The Young Athlete presents the available information relevant to exercise and training in youth, reviewed and summarized by authors who are recognized as leaders in their respective fields. The Young Athlete is subdivided into seven parts covering: the physiologic bases of physical performance in view of growth and development; trainability and the consequences of a high level of physical activity during childhood and adolescence for future health; the epidemiology of injuries, their prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation; non-orthopedic health concerns including the pre-participation examination; psychosocial issues relevant to young athletes; diseases relevant to child and adolescent athletes; the methodology relevant to the assessment of young athletes. This valuable reference summarizes a large database of information from thousands of studies and is especially relevant to sports physicians, pediatricians, general practitioners, physical therapists, dietitians, coaches, students, and researchers in the exercise sciences.

This text explains the principles of developmental exercise science, assessment of performance, the promotion of young people's health and well-being, and the clinical diagnosis and management of sports injuries in children and adolescents.

Offering a study of biological, biomedical and biocultural approaches, this book is suitable for researchers, professors and graduate students across the interdisciplinary area of human development. It is presented in the form of lectures to facilitate student programming.

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.

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.