Exercise Science Notes

Inactivity and Obesity: Causes, Risks, and Costs

• Inactivity and obesity are significant issues with personal and societal costs.
• Unhealthy individuals often require more hospital care and medications, increasing healthcare costs.
• Historically, women were often expected to stay home, limiting their physical activity and involvement in manual labor jobs.

Causes of Inactivity and Obesity

• Urbanization: Increased population density in urban areas.
• Motorized Transport: Greater reliance on buses and cars, reducing walking and biking.
• Labor: Shift from manual labor to machine-operated tasks, even in farming.
• Sedentarism: Increased time spent watching TV, using the internet, playing video games, and using cell phones.
• Processed Foods: High sugar and starch content in processed foods.
• Increased Portion Sizes: Encouraging overeating, leading to stomach expansion and increased food requirements.

Health Risks Associated with Inactivity and Obesity

• Coronary artery disease
• Stroke
• Type 2 diabetes
• Some cancers
• Osteoporosis
• Kidney diseases
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Chronic liver disease
• Depression
• Lifestyle diseases: Preventable illnesses that increase with industrialization due to poor diet, harmful habits, and sedentarism.
• Combating these issues involves avoiding tobacco, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and engaging in appropriate daily physical activity.

Summary of 1.1

• Physical activity is essential for a healthy body and mind.
• Sedentary lifestyles and poor diets contribute to inactivity and obesity.
• Combating these problems requires:
  • Changes in lifestyle habits.
  • Support programs and community physical activity initiatives.
  • Enlightened public health policies.

Overcoming Barriers to Physical Activity

Barriers to Activity

• Lack of motivation
• Fear of injury
• Job constraints
• Lack of opportunity
• Price

Common Barriers and Solutions

• Socioeconomic Barriers:
  • Many families cannot afford sports for their children (
    icefrac{1}{3} of Candian families).
  • Solutions: Community-run programs, school programs, non-profit organizations (e.g., Project North, Right to Play, Jumpstart).
  • Jumpstart (Canadian Tire): Donations reinvested in the community to help kids play sports.
  • Aboriginal children are particularly disadvantaged due to remote locations and limited resources.
• Environmental Barriers:
  • Lack of exercise spaces in built environments, inadequate lighting, discouraging walking and biking.
  • Focus: Creating human-made settings for human activities.
• Cultural Barriers:
  • Need for more inclusive sports to increase access for new immigrants.
  • Addressing language barriers and isolation.
  • Example: Controversial turban ban in soccer.
• Personal Barriers:
  • Real and serious obstacles that individuals can partially control.
  • Include lack of time, energy, poor diet, no access to a gym, and financial constraints.
• Psychological Barriers:
  • Obstacles rooted in mindset or attitude.
  • Fear of pain and exertion, self-consciousness, lack of motivation.
  • Solutions: Setting small, realistic goals and providing rewards.
• Suggestions:
  • Establish safe and active routes to school.
  • Pressure governments to increase funding for parks, walkways, bike paths, and street lighting.
  • Choose stairs over elevators.

Summary of 1.2

• Barriers to physical activity can be environmental, socioeconomic, cultural, personal, or psychological.
• Identifying these barriers helps in devising strategies to overcome them.
• Lifestyle diseases can be prevented or reduced by changes in diet, healthy choices, and reducing harmful substances.

The Roles of Schools and Communities in Promoting Physical Activity

Physical Literacy

• Not sport-specific; general movement ability.
• Characteristics: motor competence, confidence, comprehension, and diverse physical movement.
• Pioneered by British educator Margaret Whitehead.
• Individuals move with competence and confidence in diverse physical environments.

Benefits of Physical Literacy

• Development of the whole person.
• Movement competence provides a pathway to active, healthy living.

Canadian Champions of Physical Literacy

• Physical Health and Education Canada (PHE Canada)
• Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (Ophea)
• Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L)
• Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP)
• ParticipACTION
• Ever Active Schools

Benefits of Physical Activity

• Physical Benefits:
  • Maintenance of healthy body weight.
  • Prevention of lifestyle diseases.
  • Improved fitness for strong muscles and bones.
  • Skills + confidence + fun = active for life.
• Mental Benefits:
  • Reduced stress and depression.
  • Improved self-image.
  • Improved concentration, attention span, and mood.
  • Improved memory.
  • Increased productivity.
  • Slowed brain aging.
• Social Benefits:
  • Reduced behavioral problems in school.
  • Enhanced academic performance.
  • Increased self-confidence and acceptance.
  • Opportunities to make friends.
  • Greater overall community cohesiveness.
  • Higher levels of social capital.

Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD)

• Made by Canadian Sport for Life - a cradle to grave life cycle of physical activity and sport.
• Emphasizes physical literacy across the lifespan.
• Provides a seven-stage training, competition, and recovery pathway.
• Takes into account different life stages and development.

LTAD Stages

• Stage 1: Active Start (0-6 years)
• Stage 2: FUNdamentals (girls 6-8, boys 6-9 years)
• Stage 3: Learn to Train (girls 8-11, boys 9-12 years)
• Stage 4: Train to Train (girls 11-15, boys 12-16 years)
• Stage 5: Train to Compete (girls 15-21, boys 16-23 years)
• Stage 6: Train to Win (girls 18+, boys 19+)
• Stage 7: Active for Life (any age participant)

Social and Economic Benefits of Community Sport

• Social Benefits:
  • Reduced use of drugs and alcohol.
  • Development of improved social skills and employability skills.
  • Support for at-risk youth and new immigrants.
  • Greater inclusiveness and accessibility to sport for everyone.
• Economic Benefits:
  • Decreased incidence of illness and injury = lower health costs.
  • Millions of unpaid hours of service to sport activities in volunteer communities.
  • Role models for the pursuit of personal excellence = greater economic self-sufficiency.

Summary of 1.3

• Physical education is grounded in the notion that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body.
• School health and physical activity programs benefit a student's well-being and capacity to learn.
• Sport and recreation reduce social problems.

Kinesiology and Career Paths

• The systematic study of the physiological, sociological, and psychological aspects of human movement and how it can be optimized.
• Suitable for individuals who enjoy a multidisciplinary approach to learning.

Aspects of Kinesiology

• Bioscientific:
  • Anatomy and physiology
  • Skeletal and articular systems
  • Muscular system
  • Energy system
  • Cardiovascular and respiratory systems
  • Human growth and development
  • Biomechanics
  • Nutritional science
• Sociocultural:
  • History
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Sport ethics

Careers in Kinesiology

• Research (e.g., biomechanics)
• Medicine
• Health promotion
• Rehabilitation
• Teaching and training
• Leisure, recreation, and sports administration

Impact of Kinesiology

• Makes healthy active living a top priority.
• Enables contribution to the well-being of family, friends, and wider communities.

Summary of 1.5

• Kinesiology is a fast-growing, multidisciplinary field.
• Programs are offered at both college and university levels in Canada.
• Many job opportunities are available.

Early History of Physical Activity

Pre-Agricultural Society

• Humans were compelled to be active for survival.
• Hunting and gathering societies were constantly on the move for food and shelter.
• Warfare was also a driver of physical activity.
• Survival meant little opportunity for leisure.

Sporting Values: A Historical Timeline

• Ancient Greece:
  • First civilization to recognize physical activity for mental and physical benefits.
  • Held religious significance; athletes believed to be bestowed with power from the gods.
  • Winners gave offerings to the gods.
  • First recorded Olympic games took place in Athens in 776 BCE.
  • The first game recorded was a foot race (stade).
  • An Olympic truce ensured safe travel for athletes.
• Roman Empire:
  • Mainland Greece integrated into the Roman Empire around 50 BCE-500 CE.
  • Romans continued the Olympic tradition but favored brutal events like gladiator combat.
  • Athleticism and the Olympic Games declined with the empire.
• Renaissance:
  • Revival of interest in Greek and Roman culture.
  • Athleticism became a social ideal.
  • Intensified study of human anatomy and physiology.
  • Italian physician Vittorino da Feltre started the first childhood education class in 1420.
• Industrial Revolution and Victorian Era:
  • Shift from rural to urban manufactured economies.
  • Population growth and emergence of a prosperous middle class.
  • Middle class joined the upper class in leisure activities.
  • Popular recreational activities included riding and bike riding.
  • Middle class still worked, limiting time for sports.
  • Lawn tennis was developed for women's participation.

Attitudes Toward Sport

• The ideal of amity excluded the lower class from participating.
• Sport was seen to develop manly characteristics.
• Gentlemen athlete ideal.
• Belief that too much activity would harm a woman's delicate constitution.
• Physical education was seen as vital for boys as it built character.
• Physical education and sport became a growing part of the British public (private) school system.
• Victorian young men brought their sports to the British colonies.
• In Upper Canada in the 1840s, Dr. Egerton-Ryerson established accessible public education, including physical education.

Aboriginal People

• In Aztec society, losers of a game similar to basketball were sacrificed to the gods.
• In ancient Greek athletic part of religious ceremonies in North American societies.
• Physical fitness was valued for helping young warriors.
• Contemporary sporting: Arctic Winter Games (held every two years) provide high-profile sport competition for northern athletes.
• Include sports like snowboarding, table tennis, and basketball.
• North American Indigenous Games encourage equal access to sport.

Revival of Olympic Games

• French educator Baron de Coubertin (1862-1937).
• Promoted a sound mind in a healthy body to toughen up Frenchmen for war.
• He believed it would help men with mental and spiritual growth and better character.
• Initially only for men and Europeans.
• Olympic Charter and Olympic Movement:
  • Penned by de Coubertin; details the goals of the Olympic Movement.
  • Promotes values of peace, tolerance, international understanding, and amateurism.
  • Overseen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The Olympics: Nationalism and Global Politics

• Nationalism has been a driving force behind the modern Olympics.
• Hosting the Olympic Games leads to a surge of nationalism.
• The Olympics have provided a backdrop for many significant social and political events.
• Example: African American athletes Cornelius Johnson and Jesse Owens refuted notions of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Olympics.

Paralympics

• Linked to Olympics at the same venue every two years.
• Summer Olympics include diverse sports like archery, cycling, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair basketball.
• Winter Olympics: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and ice sledge hockey.
• Eunice Kennedy championed recreational programs for people with intellectual disabilities.
• The Special Olympics featured 32 Olympic-style individual and team sports, with 111 nations participating.

Professional Sport and Olympic Competition

• Professional sport: refers to being paid to play.
• Organizations, teams, and players command large incomes through advertising.
• 1882–1914 saw rapid growth in mature and professional sports.
• Professional teams emerged when teams started paying players.
• Post-World War II: Better wages, more recreational time, and televised events.

Sports Franchises

• A governing body oversees leagues and grants franchises to teams.
• Examples: Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League.

Emergence of the Modern Sports Fan

• Industrialization brought increased productivity, wealth, and leisure time.
• Attitudes toward sport and recreation changed positively in the media.

Canadian Athletes

• Nancy Greene:
  • Top ski racer in the 1960s, winning gold and silver at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics.
  • Overall World Cup titles in 1967 and 1968.
  • Owner of Nancy Greene’s Cahilty Lodge.
  • Dedicated to promoting her sport for over 30 years; Nancy Greene Ski League is an important entry-level race program for young children.
• Wayne Gretzky:
  • Nine Hart Trophies as MVP, 10 Art Ross Trophies for most points, two Conn Smythe Trophies as playoff MVP.
  • Retired to be a sports analyst on Turner Sports’ NHL coverage.
  • Started the Wayne Gretzky Foundation in 2002.
  • Has been helping to raise funds for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind since 1995.
• Hayley Wickenheiser:
  • Canadian former ice hockey player, resident physician, and assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • Retired as Canada’s all-time leading scorer in women’s hockey.
  • Hall of Fame inductee.
  • Works with philanthropic organizations supporting sports for kids.
• Chantal Petitclerc:
  • Wheelchair racer with five world records.
  • Most gold-medaled female paralympic athlete with 14 golds and 21 medals.
  • Flagbearer for Canada at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
  • Involved in projects with Paralympic organizations and spokesperson for Défi Sportif.
• Cindy Klassen:
  • First Canadian to win five medals in one Olympic Games.
  • Overall world champion in speed skating in 2003 and 2006.
  • Provides girls and women with opportunities to play sports.
• Alexandre Bilodeau:
  • Canadian retired freestyle skier.
  • First Canadian man to successfully defend an individual Olympic gold medal.
  • Prioritizes giving back to charity through the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.

The Struggle for Equity in Physical Activity and Sport

Women in Sport

• Until the early 20th century, women faced resistance due to a feminine ideal that limited their expression in sports.
• As women gained more political and economic freedom, they also gained more sports freedom.
• Global development goals related to women and sport include gender equality.
• Increased access for women and girls helps build confidence and promotes social integration.
• Involving girls in sports activities alongside boys can help overcome prejudice.

Changing Attitudes Towards Women's Place in Sport

• The first Olympic Games in 1896 excluded women entirely.
• 100 years later, Canada had more women than men on its Olympic team.
• The 2012 London Olympics were the first games in which women were allowed to compete in every sport.
• Women from Saudi Arabia and Brunei competed for the first time.
• Now women are no longer considered too frail to participate in so-called male sports such as boxing and wrestling.

Racism in Sport

• South Africa's apartheid policy banned black people from participating in sporting events until apartheid was abolished in 1990.
• Negro Leagues in baseball flourished in North America in the 1920s and 1930s due to segregation.
• White athletes were paid highly, while black athletes were underpaid.

Blazing a Trail for Racial Equity

• In 1946, Jackie Robinson became the first black man on a professional baseball team for the Major Leagues.
• Promoted to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Exclusionary Practices in Canadian Sport

• Sons of Japanese immigrants formed their own baseball team in BC in 1920.
• The Asahi team was known for its strategic play, dubbed "brain ball."
• After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Canadian government forcibly moved 22,000 Japanese Canadians from their homes to internment camps.
• By the end of the war, Asian baseball players were released but forced to move out of BC.
• In 2003, a movie called Sleeping Tigers: The Asahi Baseball Story deconstructed the team's struggles.
• In 2003, they were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Government Involvement in Sport

• Government initiatives promote active, healthy living.
• Sport Canada develops federal sport policy and provides funding for sport programs.
• Aims to make more inclusive growth in the sporting environment.
• ParticipACTION was created by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1971 to encourage physical activity.
• Integrated pan-Canadian healthy living strategy.

Own the Podium

• Launched due to an obesity epidemic in 2005, emphasizing healthy eating and physical activity.
• CS4L (Canadian Sport 4 Life) promotes physical activity based on development age rather than chronological age.
• Exposes individuals to multiple sports instead of early specialization.
• Canadian sport policy in 2012 endorsed for 2012-2022.
• The Department of Canadian Heritage is the largest investor in Canadian amateur sports systems.
• Funding helps low-income people to get to the big leagues.

Programs Include

• Olympic hosting programs.
• Sport support program.
• Athletes assistance program.

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC)

• First recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1907.
• A private nonprofit corporation representing Canada in the international Olympic sports movement.
• A founding partner of the Canadian Sport Centres.
• Own the Podium aims to deliver more Olympic and Paralympic medals for Canada.

Sport for Fun and Sport for Profit

• Professional athletes are paid to compete.
• Amateur athletes play mainly for enjoyment and prestige.
• The key difference is that professional athletes are employees, while amateurs are not.

Compensation for Professional Athletes

• Labor, signing bonuses, merchandise and ticket sales, and endorsements.
• Semi-professional athletes blend professional and amateur characteristics.
• Some professional athletes are released to play for the Olympics.

Funding for Amateur Athletes

• Sport Canada is Canada's major grant agency.
• Funds amateur athletes through its athletes assistance program.
• To qualify, athletes must be in the top 16 in the world in their sport.
• Financial assistance ranges from $4500$ to $1800$.

Financial Challenges for Amateur Sport

• Limited endorsement opportunities.
• Often require maintaining a job.

Sport for Profit

• Organized sport where owners hire players to compete and market them.
• Revenue is generated from posters, merchandise, etc.
• Not-for-profit sports focus on enjoyment and representation.

Revenue Streams for For-Profit Sports

• Tickets, broadcasting rights, replica products, and advertising.
• Endorsements and sponsorships.
• Alternate stadium uses (concerts, trade shows, amateur events).

Who's Who in the World of Sport

• Sports Franchise Owners:
  • Motivated by financial reasons.
  • Owned by large media conglomerates.
• Sports Franchise Definition:
  • A team along with associated business merchandise (licensing, concessions, broadcasting rights, equipment, stadium, players, coaches).
• Athletes:
  • Judged by performance.
  • High-profile athletes earn millions, while lower-level athletes earn average salaries.
• Sports Agents:
  • Earn commissions (4-10% of playing contract; 10-20% of endorsement contract).
  • Represent athletes in team selection and endorsement deals.
• The Sports Fan:
  • Fan loyalty is crucial for a sports franchise.

Motivation for Athletes

• Intrinsic Motivation:
  • Love and passion for the sport, strong bond with the team, pursuit of excellence.
• Extrinsic Motivation (Top-Level Athletes):
  • Large salaries and endorsement deals, high-paying jobs, fame, and social status.

Sports as an Entertainment Industry

The Media and Its Influence

• Media includes print and digital formats (newspapers, radio, TV, internet).
• Newspapers initially covered sports, but information was delayed.
• Radios provided live sports coverage in the 1930s and 1940s.
• NHL was first televised in 1952.
• Television has reshaped sports rules, uniforms, and event duration.

Technological Broadcasting

• Celebrity interviews, play-by-play announcers, pre- and post-game analysis.
• Highlights from other games and in-depth player profiles.

Digital Advances in Sport Entertainment

• Significant technological advances in delivery.
• Most broadcasts are in high definition.
• Digital recordings allow internet stats access, voting, gambling, and highlight viewing.

Broadcasting Rights

• Leagues sell broadcasting rights to media organizations for huge sums.
• US networks CBS and Turner Broadcasting signed a contract with the NCAA for March Madness tournament rights.

Social Media's Role

• Fans follow live actions or catch highlights on computers or smartphones.
• YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and more.

The Downside of Digital Communications

• Digital communication technologies have created new possibilities on signal theft.
• Threatens revenue for broadcasting channels.

Media Conglomerates and Sport

• Potential conflict of interest when a company owns both a sports team and media outlets.
• The MLSE partnership with media has pros (broadcasts info) and cons (potentially unbiased coverage).

Risks of Concentrated Power

• With much sports and sports media under one conglomerate, there might be an exploitation of fans through higher fees or unreasonable demands.

Terms to Note

• Winning at all costs
• Gender-based inequity
• Cheating