New text tackles youth physical activity and sedentary behavior

Posted by http://www.athletesadvisor.com/

*******************************************************************

Champaign, IL-- As interest in the public health challenge of youth inactivity increases, Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior (Human Kinetics, August 2008) sets a standard for addressing a problem with worldwide implications. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this text breaks away from traditional thinking that places activity and inactivity on a single continuum; instead it encourages readers to focus on how sedentary and physically active behaviors coexist and consider how the two behaviors may have different determinants.

Each chapter presents the latest research, real-world approaches to implementation, and background for discussion. Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior also contains the following features:

• Applications for professionals and researchers that provide practical suggestions for implementing solutions to youth inactivity
• Coverage of more issues related to this subject than are available in any other reference
• Internationally respected foreword writer, editors, and contributors who provide cross-disciplinary perspectives to examine solutions in a wider context

Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Challenges and Solutions considers current research about youth physical activity and sedentary behavior across a range of personal factors as well as cultural and social influences. The text seeks to communicate the knowledge base on how developmental, economic, psychological, and social factors influence this problem and provides an overview of youth-specific approaches to the reduction of sedentary living and the promotion of active living.

For more information on Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Challenges and Solutions, or a variety of other physical activity resources, visit Human Kinetics.

About the authors

Alan L. Smith, PhD, is associate professor of health and kinesiology at Purdue University. He is recognized internationally for his research in developmental sport and exercise psychology, serves as associate editor of the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, and is a consulting editor of Child Development. He is a fellow of the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and is a past chair of the Sport Psychology Academy of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. He earned his PhD in exercise and movement science from the University of Oregon.

Stuart J. H. Biddle, PhD, is professor of exercise and sport psychology at Loughborough University. A recognized leader in the field of physical activity and health for young people, he has worked in the area for nearly 30 years. He is coauthor of the first textbook on exercise psychology and has delivered keynotes and other lectures in more than 20 countries. Dr. Biddle is past president of the European Federation for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity and was academic cochair of the Young and Active Project leading to national guidelines for physical activity for young people in the United Kingdom. He earned his PhD in psychology from Keele University.

CONTENTS

Part I. Conceptualization of Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior

Chapter 1. Definitions and Measurement Simon J. Marshall and Gregory J. Welk

Chapter 2. Youth Health OutcomesDavid J. Stensel, Trish Gorely, and Stuart J.H. Biddle

Chapter 3. A Sociohistorical Analysis of U.S. Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary BehaviorMary McElroy

Chapter 4. Conceptual Perspectives Claudio R. Nigg and Raheem J. PaxtonChapter

5. "Couch Potatoes" and "Wind-Up Dolls"? A Critical Assessment of the Ethics of Youth Physical Activity ResearchMichael Gard Part II. Developmental and Psychological Factors in Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior C

6. Biocultural Factors in Developing Physical Activity LevelsRobert M. Malina

7. Youth Attitudes Martin S. Hagger and Nikos L.D. Chatzisarantis

8. Motivational Characteristics Stuart J.H. Biddle, Darren C. Treasure, and C.K. John Wang

9. The Role of the Self Peter R.E. Crocker, Kent C. Kowalski, and Valerie Hadd

10. Youth With Movement DifficultiesJanice Causgrove Dunn and Donna L. Goodwin

Part III. Social and Contextual Factors in Youth Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior

Chapter 11. The Family Brian E. Saelens and Jacqueline KerrChapter 12. Peers Alan L. Smith and Meghan H. McDonoughChapter 13. Physical Activity Levels During the School DayGareth Stratton, Stuart J. Fairclough, and Nicola D. RidgersChapter 14. Organized Sport and Physical Activity PromotionRobert J. Brustad, Runar Vilhjalmsson, and Antonio Manuel FonsecaChapter 15. Community Out-of-School Physical Activity PromotionDavid A. DzewaltowskiChapter 16. Living Environments Jo Salmon, John C. Spence, Anna Timperio, and Nicoleta CutumisuChapter 17. Economic Principles Chad D. MeyerhoeferChapter 18. Culturally Appropriate Research and InterventionsSuzanna M. Martinez, Elva M. Arredondo, Guadalupe X. Ayala, and John P. Elder

For more information, an excerpt, review copy, or author interview, contact:

Patty Lehn Publicity Manager-On short-term leave

Alexis KoontzPublicity Associate217.403.7985