Physical fitness affects our ability to function and be active. At poor levels, it is associated with such health outcomes as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Physical fitness testing in American youth was established on a large scale in the 1950s with an early focus on performance-related fitness that gradually gave way to an emphasis on health-related fitness. Using appropriately selected measures to collected fitness data in youth will advance our understanding of how fitness among youth translates into better health. In Fitness Measures and Health Outcomes in Youth, the IOM assesses the relationship between youth fitness test items and health outcomes, recommends the best fitness test items, provides guidance for interpreting fitness scores, and provides an agenda for needed research. The report concludes that selected cardiorespiratory endurance, musculoskeletal fitness, and body composition measures should be in fitness surveys and in schools. Collecting fitness data nationally and in schools helps with setting and achieving fitness goals and priorities for public health at an individual and national level.

Laboratory Manual for Exercise Physiology, Exercise Testing, and Physical Fitness is a comprehensive text that will provide students with meaningful lab experiences--whether they have access to sophisticated laboratories and expensive equipment, or they are looking for procedures that can be done without costly materials. It will be a useful resource as they prepare for a career as an exercise science professional, athletic trainer, coach, or physical educator. The more than 40 labs cover seven major components of physical fitness. They are practical and easy to follow, consisting of a clear, logical format that includes background information, step-by-step procedures, explanatory photographs, sample calculations, norms and classification tables, and worksheets. Lab-ending activities and questions provide additional opportunities to practice the procedures and explore issues of validity, reliability, and accuracy. Readers will find this manual a valuable tool in learning to apply physiological concepts and to perform exercise tests, as well as an essential resource for any career involving physical fitness and performance testing.

This book provides a unique and succinct account of the history of health and fitness, responding to the growing recognition of physicians, policy makers and the general public that exercise is the most potent form of medicine available to humankind. Individual chapters present information extending from the earliest reaches of human history to the present day, arranged in the form of 30 thematic essays covering topics from the supposed idyll of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and its posited health benefits to the evolution of health professionals and the possible contribution of the Olympic movement to health and fitness in our current society. Learning objectives are set for each topic, and although technical language is avoided as far as possible, a thorough glossary explains any specialized terms that are introduced in each chapter. The critical thinking of the reader is stimulated by a range of questions arising from the text context, and each chapter concludes with a brief discussion of some of the more important implications for public policies on health and fitness today and into the future. The material will be of particular interest to graduate and undergraduate students in public health, health promotion, health policy, kinesiology, physical education, but will be of interest also to many studying medicine, history and sociology.

The Laboratory Manual for Strength and Conditioning is a comprehensive text that provides students with meaningful lab experiences in the area of strength and conditioning and applied sport science. While each lab may be conducted in a sophisticated laboratory, there are opportunities to conduct the labs in a gym or field environment without costly equipment. It is a useful resource as students prepare for a career as a strength and conditioning coach, athletic trainer, physical therapist, or personal trainer. The Laboratory Manual for Strength and Conditioning is designed to be a practical guide for training students and professionals in the skills to be applied to strength and conditioning. The labs cover seven major aspects of strength and conditioning including speed, power, flexibility, agility, and fitness. The labs are practical and easy to follow with sample calculations, data tables, and worksheets to complete. Each includes suggested tasks/activities to apply the theory to real-world applications. Students will explore assessments of strength, aerobic capacity, power output, speed, change of direction, and muscular endurance, and gain understanding in the following areas: Definitions of commonly used terms within the area of exploration, as well as commonly misused terms Assessing performance (i.e., power, strength, speed, etc.) Understanding laboratory- and field-based techniques for specific athlete populations Describing optimal methods for testing in all aspects of physical performance Evaluation of test results based upon sport and/or athlete normative data The lab manual is a valuable resource for strength coaches, personal trainers, kinesiology students, and educators at the undergraduate and beginning graduate-level programs and can be used in a graduate strength and conditioning course.