What type, amount, and intensity of physical activity is good for your health? How much exercise is too much? Can avoiding physical activity make you ill or lead to premature death? This crisply written and thought-provoking book examines such issues to give readers the first integrated and consolidated introduction to what is known about the impact of physical activity on health. By selectively highlighting some of the best and most important research in physical activity, the authors synthesize studies and theory from several disciplines. They use a behavioral-epidemiology framework to organize the book and explore such topics as: physical activity and the health of children, adolescents, and the elderly; physical activity and its impact on mental health; the role of physical activity in prevention of particular diseases; health risks of physical activity; and how much physical activity is enough and how to measure it; how to promote physical activity and community-based physical activity interventions. Throughout the book, the authors offer studies of diverse populations, including different ethnic backgrounds and nationalities, and different gender groups, and different socioeconomic levels. Although the health benefits of physical activity are fairly well-known, this book furthers our understanding of how to help people become active enough to enjoy these benefits.

Based on the latest scientific research findings, ACSM’s Behavioral Aspects of Physical Activity and Exercise lays the theoretical foundation of behavior change and then provides specific strategies, tools, and methods to motivate and inspire clients to be active, exercise, and stay healthy. Developed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and written by a team of leading experts in exercise science and motivation, this highly practical book provides step-by-step instructions to help fitness/health professionals and students master motivation techniques that have proven successful in helping clients adhere to an exercise program.

This text is an effort to summarize and synthesize the existing research dealing with the influence of physical activity on mental health, as well as the potential mechanisms underlying psychological effects. Contributions from some of the leading experts in the field deal with mental health through prevention, exercise prescription, exercise adherence, drug therapy and exercise, the influence of physical activity on depression, anxiety, and self-esteem, and the paradoxical effects of excessive amounts of exercise.

Grade level: 10,11, 12, s.

This manual of practical guidelines is written by internationally known experts in exercise physiology and exercise epidemiology. It's the only book that covers all available methods for assessing energy expenditure and physical activity. It includes comprehensive references on the topic and highlights promising areas for future research in measurement methodology. And the extensive appendixes include a number of useful questionnaire and interview forms that represent the most widely used - and adaptable - resources available. Measuring physical activity levels is a formidable task. Measuring Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure smooths the way, bringing together the diverse literature on the subject and providing state-of-the-art, scientific methods for assessing physical activity and energy expenditure.

Behavioral medicine emerged in the 1970s as the interdisciplinary field concerned with the integration of behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical science knowledge relevant to the understanding of health and illness, and the application of this knowledge to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Recent years have witnessed an enormous diversification of behavioral medicine, with new sciences (such as genetics, life course epidemiology) and new technologies (such as neuroimaging) coming into play. This book brings together such new developments by providing an up-to-date compendium of methods and applications drawn from the broad range of behavioral medicine research and practice. The book is divided into 10 sections that address key fields in behavioral medicine. Each section begins with one or two methodological or conceptual chapters, followed by contributions that address substantive topics within that field. Major health problems such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, HIV/AIDs, and obesity are explored from multiple perspectives. The aim is to present behavioral medicine as an integrative discipline, involving diverse methodologies and paradigms that converge on health and well being.