The historical and current context for research into health and physical activity

This chapter builds on some of the health issues presented in chapter 1. It commences with a consideration of some of the early beliefs in the benefits of exercise and then progresses to introduce some of the ground-breaking scientific research that initiated the accumulation of hard evidence in support of the association between physical activity and health. It also introduces the rationale for intervention studies that can determine the health benefits from the participation in exercise, and how these have contributed to the current recommendations by health and medical authorities. It then raises some of the current research questions and the need for ongoing research, as we have yet to identify how best to optimise exercise prescription for each individual and to fully understand how such physical activity interacts with other factors that impact upon health, such as nutrition and sedentary behaviour.