A Fitness Evaluation and Nutrition Support System for Athletes

Competitive sport has higher and higher demands for athletes’ physical power and energy. Fitness Evaluation and Nutrition Support System has a very important practical role in scientific training arrangement and performance improvement.

The purpose for evaluation in nutrition and biochemistry is to realize about the metabolism and conditioning of athletes’ body by means of diet survey, anthropometry and biochemical tests.

Nutrition is the most important substantial base to ensure athletes’ nutrients needs and maintain the performance. An athlete is like a racing car. There’re three key factors for the car to run faster: the gasoline, combustion improver and maintain. The diet likes the gasoline – the better quality of the gasoline is, the faster the car runs. The nutritious intensifier as the ergogenic aids must like the combustion improver in the engine. The diet supplement administration resolves the medical problems to maintain the physical fitness.

The successful application of the fitness evaluation and support system for Chinese athletes achieved successful experiences and help athletes to get the 28, 32 and 51 Gold medals in 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games respectively as well as first gold medal in the 19^th Winter Olympic Games.

Information Technology and Generic Skills in Education

The importance of the generic skills of critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and information technology (IT) has been reinforced in Education. The aim of this project was to: 1) design a self-learning package of Blackboard-based learning activities that will promote generic skills; 2) implement the self-learning package of Blackboard-based learning activities in a physical education module, Physical Education for Students with Special Needs; 3) establish five models to promote student learning and generic skills that include asynchronous/face-to-face communication, problem-solving, group debate, case-analysis, reflection, lesson plan source package, and observational activities analysis via the Blackboard platform. This presentation will summarize the design of the instructional learning package and different types of Blackboard-Based Asynchronous activities that utilizes information technology as a bridge to promote a student-centered learning environment with an emphasis on five generic skills.  We believe that these features strengthen the significance of this project in changing the learning environment in education.

International Perspectives of Sports Science in Europe

It is the purpose of this presentation to outline perspectives of sport science in regard to two main very current dimensions. Firstly, this relates to “international”, which is a basic requirement in the age of globalization and internationalization. Secondly, it relates to Europe as a continent, since it is quite interesting for other continents, e.g. like Asia, to get to know the mainstream perspectives of another continent, in this case Europe. The main parts of this presentation will consequently cover the following issues:

(1)   Terminological and content foundation related to the perception of sport, sport education and sport science. In regard to sport science it is important to clarify four aspects: aim, body of knowledge, research methodology, and theory-practice relationship. In the context of sport science furthermore “research” and “teaching” have to be addressed as the two major parts of an academic discipline.

(2)   Based on these terminological and content clarifications, the nature and self-understanding of sport science will be analyzed as a theoretical framework for the analysis of the construct “research” and “teaching”.

(3)   The research dimension as well as the teaching dimension are described in more detail, especially dealing with a new process of introducing B.A./B.S./B.Ed. and M.A./M.S./M.Ed. curricula also in the field of sport science across Europe in the so-called Bologna-process until 2010.

(4) Finally, the Europe-related existing networks of “published materials” and “organizations / institutions” are presented, in order to have access to sport science in Europe, especially on the important level of information brokering, which in turn is essential for understanding “International Perspectives of Sport Science in Europe”.

Mental Health and Sports Injury Prevention

Sports injuries frequently have a profound negative impact on athletes’ psychological health, as well as their physical health. Depression and anxiety are typical psychological consequences that injured athletes may experience. These emotions are harmful and could hinder the recovery process. While intensive medical efforts are provided to speed an injured athlete’s physical healing, relatively few studies have addressed psychological recovery from an athletic injury, including changes in depression and anxiety. Collegiate student-athletes are at high risk for experiencing depression not only because the college years often bring on many new life stressors during a transition period with reduced parental support structures, but also because of the strong commitment to intense and competitive intercollegiate sports. Although there has been a growing interest in recent years on research related to athletes’ mental health as well as the role of well-balanced physical and mental health on athletic performance, the research on the prevalence of depression in collegiate student-athletes has been minimal. The aim of this presentation is to describe the preliminary findings from our ongoing 5 year, multi-site study, funded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on depression and anxiety following injury among Division I athletes involved in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competitive sports. The presentation will help better understand the extent to which sports injuries contribute to the development of depression and anxiety in collegiate student athletes and the potential contribution of depression to post-injury recovery. Our results will add to the body of existing literature by addressing both psychological and physical aspects of recovery, and will also have broad applications to recovery from sports injuries among other populations including youth sport participants and non-competitive recreational sport participants, even though they do not play as competitively as collegiate athletes.

Sports Injuries And Management Of Injuries - Malaysia Scenario

 Effective management of sports related injuries has a direct influence on sports performance. In order to obtain best results in training and to achieve optimum performance, the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries afflicting high performance athletes is a matter of paramount importance.

The key to effective management of injuries among elite high performance athletes is integration. The various elements that collaborate in clinical sports medicine are integrated to produce an effective plan of treatment and recovery for the injured athlete. However, in elite high performance, the clinical practitioner must collaborate closely with sports science colleagues. This will drive a more holistic approach to sport injury management that will treat the injury effectively, manage its causative factors in training or competition performance, whilst obtaining the correct balance between the need to recover and maintaining a training programme that has been necessarily modified to accommodate the injury.

The National Sports Institute of Malaysia, almost from its very inception, has adopted an integrated approach towards performance enhancement, injury prevention and management. Its High Performance Teams (HPT) dedicated to specific sports combine both scientific and medical/paramedical personnel in working closely with athletes and their coaches. This system and process is being continuously refined and improved to meet the exacting and complex demands of elite high performance sport.

Exercise and Cancer - a reciprocal relationship

Epidemiological data from all over the world are showing a frightening figure: a rising trend in the incidence of cancer. The cause of cancer is multi-factorial. It is a genetic disease and in most instances the genetic abnormality is acquired and is ‘self-inflicted’. Lifestyles at work and at home for many people these days involve little physical activities. While few cancers are unavoidable because the genetic abnormality is inherited, in a large majority, cancer could be avoided.  Regular good physical activity improves cardio-respiratory fitness and reduces obesity. Obesity and cancer has parallel relationship. Several studies have shown that the behaviour of those who exercised vigorously at least once a day had a 50 percent reduction in risk of breast cancer. Studies on other cancers also show results which support the hypothesis that physical activity and cancer has a reciprocal relationship. Cardio-respiratory fitness and physical activity levels may protect against development of cancers. Exercise alone has been shown to promote  response to treatment and rehabilitation from cancer.

Global Trends of Epidemic Obesity in School and Community:  Current Issues on Causes, Consequences, Prevention and Management

Increasing prevalence of obesity has been shown not only in the industrially developed countries, but also in the developing countries. Obesity is represented in all age categories and in male and female populations. In adults, it is mostly accompanied by various health problems – diabetes, diseases of the cardiovascular system, dislipidemia, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, cholecystopathy, orthopedic problems and limited motor ability, etc.; morbidity and mortality are shown to be increased due to obesity. The health situation is worse when obesity starts during childhood. Unlike the western developed or developing economies, the situation in Asia is rather complex. The economies of countries and regions in Asia are at different phases of development. In a recent WHO report, six Asian countries - China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan and Bangladesh - are listed among the top 10 countries with the greatest prevalence of the disease. Transitions in diet and nutrition and changes in activity patterns fuel the obesity epidemic. Rapid economic development in Asia together with raised standards of living over the last three decades have resulted in increased nutrient availability to many countries in the region and also improved health facilities. There have also been marked changes in the sources of nutrients and the patterns and composition of diets. Building environments in large, urban agglomerations that reward and encourage masses of people to make lifestyle choices, may be a key factor of the current problem in Asia and the United States. Social and economic conditions influenced, mostly through nutrition and physical activity regimes, the prevalence of obesity in different ways. An effort for timely diagnosis of early stages of obesity and efficient multifaceted treatment approaches combining intervention with nutritional and physical activity regimes, along with behavioral and psychological intervention are mostly recommendable. The aim of this presentation is to document current global trends of obesity with special reference in Asian-Pacific countries from an international perspective. Current changes in physical education, diet and physical activity patterns and video clips on model school program in physical education and health will be used for illustration.