Main description:

The aim of this volume is to underline that promoting physical activity is crucial to preventing illness and maintaining our health, thus leading to a reduction in healthcare costs. Over the last decade studies have shown that physical exercise plays an important role in maintaining an individual's psycho-physical balance. Physical activity therefore helps in tackling today's major health challenges, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory diseases.

Contents:

Metabolic Modifications and Physical Exercise.- Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Skeletal Muscle Plasticity.- Physical Inactivity is the Main Cause of the Metabolic Syndrome.- Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Physical Exercise.- Exercise-Induced Mitochondrial Biogenesis in Skeletal Muscle.- Genetic Vs. Acquired Fitness: Cardiomyocyte Adaptations.- Molecular Modifications Induced by Physical Exercise: A Significant Role in Disease Prevention.- Physical Exercise and Oxidative Stress.- The Contribution of Reactive Oxygen Species in Sarcopenia and Muscle Aging.- Mitochondrial Alteration in Aging and Diseases.- Mitochondria: The Dark Side.- Mitochondrial Pathogenesis of Myopathies Due to Collagen VI Mutations.- Mitochondria in Cell Life and Death.- Nutrition, Physical Exercise and Obesity.- Evaluation of Nutritional State in Individuals that Practice Fitness.- Physical Exercise for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity.- Physical Exercise - Health and Wellness: Sociological and Psychological Aspects.- Techniques for Assessing the Quality of Life with a Particular Emphasis on Physical Exercise.- Effects of Physical Exercise on the Quality of Life of Individuals with Diabetes and Obesity.- A Longitudinal Investigation of Physical Activity and Health Behaviors in Italian University Students.