Book review: Physical Activity and Health (2007) Claude Bouchard, Steven Blair, William Haskell
I have read so much over the years about the dangers of sedentary behaviour, but I noticed how little I have covered the risk of Physical inactivity and the research behind it. I have lost or sold the books.
I wanted you to have access to the information I have had access to so that you can make your own informed decision. This means showing you where to find the best and latest research. You will notice that I have reviewed the older book, not the latest, and the reason is simply money. I got this for less than £10, and I cannot afford the latest book. So if you can afford the latest, get that. For now, the basic facts have not changed. Inactivity is deadly and lowers your quality of life. There is overwhelming evidence and these authors make a clear case why.
When I searched for the best texts on the topic, I knew I wanted this one because it is written by the leading thinkers in the field, particularly Claude Bouchard, who has been researching physical activity and its effects for decades.
I have not had the time to read this text thoroughly, as it is more of a reference book than something you read through systematically. I have read many similar texts, so I know the basis of each topic covered. I want it for reference to put the facts behind my articles, as they lack the clarity of purpose that texts like this bring.
This book explains in detail the direct relationship between exercise and health. Poor physical activity habits lead to the 10 main health problems of Western life: serious diseases, including Obesity, Heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
The reasons are very complex and only recently understood, but the warnings have been there for decades. If you want to understand why physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour are deadly and worsen your life, then you need to read this book or one of the other titles I have referenced.
You definitely need to take the course I created that sums up the messages and learning from these books so you don’t have to do all the reading.
Synopsis
Sedentary habits have been identified as a major public health problem in many countries. The timely Physical Activity and Health fills an unmet need by providing a thorough treatment of the relationship between physical activity and health outcomes.
Physical Activity and Health begins by defining basic concepts and then tracing the history of the subject. It then brings together the results of the most important studies in this rapidly changing field. It also summarizes evidence accumulated on the levels of physical activity and fitness and variations with age, between genders, and among ethnic groups.
The text explains the latest advances in understanding the effects of acute and chronic participation in physical activity and reviews the relationships between regular physical activity and health outcomes, including cardiovascular morbidities, mental health, and all-cause mortality. It also explores the relationships between the level of fitness and those same health outcomes.
The book ends by focusing on the “how” and deals with dose-response issues and types of exercise programs before exploring how advances in genetics challenge our understanding of the complex relationships between physical activity, fitness, and health.
Physical Activity and Health offers a detailed yet concise and clear presentation of key concepts. It is a comprehensive resource ideal for anyone who wishes to learn about the relationship between physical activity and health.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-5092-0
Blair, Steven N., Claude Bouchard, and William L Haskell. Physical Activity and Health. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2007.
Topics
Topics include
Part 1: History and current status of the study of physical activity, including chapters on:
- Why study physical activity and health
- Historical perspectives
- Demographics
Part 2: Effects of physical activity on the human organism
- Metabolic, cardiovascular and respiratory responses to physical activity
- Acute responses to physical activity and exercise
- Hormonal responses to regular physical activity
- Skeletal muscle adaption to regular physical activity
- Response of brain, liver, kidney and other organs and tissues to regular physical activity
Part 3: Physical activity, fitness and health, including:
- Mortality rates
- Cardio, Vascular and Pulmonary morbidities
- Obesity
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Cancer
- Joint and Bone health
- Muscular fitness and health
- Mental health
- Children
- Aging
- Risks
Part 4: Recommended activity amounts and delivery modes, including:
- Dose-response issues
- Physical activity and exercise programs
Part 5: New challenges and opportunities
- Genetic differences
- An integrated view
About the Editors
Claude Bouchard, PhD, is the executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, a campus of the Louisiana State University System, and holds the George A. Bray Jr. chair in nutrition. He was director of the Physical Activity Sciences Laboratory at Laval University, Quebec City, Canada, for over 20 years. Dr. Bouchard holds a BPed from Laval University, an MSc in exercise physiology from the University of Oregon at Eugene, and a PhD in population genetics from the University of Texas at Austin. For four decades, his research has dealt with the role of physical activity, and the lack thereof, on physiology, metabolism, and indicators of health, taking into account genetic uniqueness. He has performed research on the contributions of gene sequence variation and the benefits to be expected from regular activity in terms of changes in cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors. Dr. Bouchard has served as program leader for four consensus conferences and symposia pertaining to various aspects of physical activity and health. He has published more than 850 scientific papers and has edited four books and several monographs dealing with physical activity and health. Dr. Bouchard is former president of the Canadian Society for Applied Physiology and the North American Association for the Study of Obesity. He is president of the International Association for the Study of Obesity (2002-2006), a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Cooper Research Institute for the last decade
Steven N. Blair, PED, is the president and CEO of the Cooper Institute and is one of the world’s most eminent epidemiologists in the area of physical activity and health. Dr. Blair has three honorary doctoral degrees in the United States, England, and Belgium. For nearly 40 years, he has researched and done public health work in the areas of physical activity and health. He has published more than 350 scientific articles, including one on fitness and mortality that has been cited over 1,100 times. He is past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and a fellow in many organizations. He has received numerous honors, including the ACSM Honor Award. He was the senior scientific editor of the Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health.
William Haskell, PhD, is emeritus professor of medicine at Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine. He holds an honorary MD degree from Linkoping University in For 40 years, his research has investigated the relationships between physical activity and health. He has been involved at the national and international levels in the development of physical activity and fitness guidelines and recommendations for physical activity in health promotion and disease Dr. Haskell has served as principal investigator on major NIH-funded research projects demonstrating the health benefits of physical activity. For 11 years, he was a member of the planning committee and faculty for the CDC-sponsored research course on physical activity and public health. From 1968 to 1970, he was program director for the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He is past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and founder and past president of the American College of Sports Medicine Foundation. He is a fellow with the Exercise and Rehabilitation Council, American Heart Associa-tion, and American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. 403
Books and Articles
Dr Bouchard has published an extensive list of books and papers. A few of which have been reviewed on Fit2Thrive