A History of Health & Fitness: Implications for Policy Today

« 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. »-- Quatrième de couverture Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi Those Pesky Dates: A Simple Time Line for the Evolution of Society (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 1-8 The Hunter-Gatherer Idyll (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 9-22 Irrigation and the Seductive Sedentary Lifestyle (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 23-39 Evolution of the Sedentary Lifestyle in Classical Culture (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 41-58 Were the Lights Turned Off During the “Dark Ages?” (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 59-76 The Renaissance: Daring to Challenge Traditional Wisdom (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 77-95 The Enlightenment: How Far Did Reason and Religion Influence Health and Fitness in an Age of Industrialization? (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 97-117 The Victorian Era: A Wealthier Society Offers New Recreational Possibilities, Especially to Women (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 119-138 The Modern Era: Growing Health in the Face of Unemployment and War (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 139-167 The Ludic Impulse: Why Did Early Societies Engage in Play? (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 169-177 The Classical Olympic Movement: An Early Stimulus to Health and Fitness? (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 179-189 The Modern Olympics: A Current Stimulus to Health and Fitness or a Five-Ring Circus? (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 191-208 The Early Health Professionals – Unfettered Amateurs, Servants of the Gods or Wealthy Charlatans? (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 209-224 Herb Gardens, Naturopathy and Human Health (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 225-232 Bizarre By-ways in the Search for Good Health (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 233-245 Caring for the Sick: Hospitals and Hospices (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 247-255 The Emergence of Health Science Education (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 257-270 Literature in the Search for Health and Fitness (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 271-284 Teaching Health and Fitness to the Growing Child: The Physical Educator (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 285-311 Co-opting Fitness and Sport for Political Objectives (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 313-330 Governmental Involvement in Health Care and Health Promotion (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 331-341 Building the Infrastructure and Regulations Needed for Public Health and Fitness (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 343-361 Health and Fitness in Industry: The Development of Occupational Health (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 363-380 Understanding the Root Causes of Ill-Health: The Emergence of Epidemiology, Bacteriology and Immunology (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 381-393 The Feminine Touch in Health and Fitness (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 395-410 The Emergence of Professional Associations and Journals in Health and Exercise Science (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 411-423 The Growing Knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology Through to the Enlightenment (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 425-452 Recent Gains in Knowledge of Anatomy and Physiology (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 453-479 Exercise as Medicine in Antiquity and Today (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 481-488 The Post-modern Era and Beyond: Meeting Future Challenges to Health and Fitness (Roy J. Shephard)....Pages 489-508 Back Matter ....Pages 509-516