R J Maughan’s research while affiliated with University of St Andrews and other places

This book presents an integrated, research-driven, collection of 54 evidence-based chapters. Chapters are founded on the research and practical experience of 104 internationally renowned scientists and clinicians, from 25 countries. Each extensively referenced chapter concludes with a bulleted summary and where appropriate is cross-referenced to complementary chapters. The Exercise Science section initially focuses on growth and maturation and the development of motor control, coordination, and muscle strength. Subsequently, molecular exercise physiology, physiological variability, and the perception of exercise are explored and the cerebrovascular, metabolic, endocrine, cardiopulmonary, and neuromuscular responses to exercise are analysed. The Exercise Medicine section opens with a discussion of the role of molecular mechanisms in transducing physical activity and exercise into health benefits. The following chapters analyse physical activity, exercise, and sedentary behaviour and their relationship with cardiovascular health, metabolic syndrome, eating disorders, bone health, diabetes, asthma, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, mental health, and intellectual disability. The Sport Science section reviews bio-banding in youth sport before examining the morphology of youth athletes and analysing the development and trainability of aerobic fitness, anaerobic fitness, speed, and agility. The evidence underpinning resistance, high-intensity, and neuromuscular training is evaluated and overtraining, sleep, temperature regulation, and appropriate assessment, monitoring, and long-term development of youth athletes are discussed. The Sport Medicine section reviews the epidemiology and prevention of injuries before focusing on injuries in physical education classes, and youth sports, and evaluating the role of stretching in injury prevention. The diagnosis and management of injuries to the upper extremity and trunk, the lower limbs, and the head and cervical spine are reviewed. The book concludes with discussions of disability and youth sport, nutrition and eating disorders, dietary supplementation, doping and anti-doping, and safeguarding youth athletes.

The oral consumption of nutrition/dietary supplements is widespread in the general population and among sports people. This is true for children as well as adults. Despite the well-recognised benefits of supplementation with some essential micronutrients (vitamins B12 and D, iron, and a few others) in the prevention of deficiency diseases, there is very little research on any aspect of dietary supplement consumption in child/youth athletes. A few supplements have the potential to enhance performance in adults, but translation of information from adult populations should be undertaken with great caution. Safety considerations around the use of dietary supplements by youth athletes are the same as those for the adult population with the additional aspect of consideration of effects on growth and development. For all athletes, a food-first approach is preferred, but each individual is different, and each case should be assessed using a cost–benefit analysis that takes account of the athlete’s physical, cognitive, and emotional maturity. In spite of their popularity, it is likely that only a very small number of dietary supplements will have a beneficial effect on performance for youth athletes who have no underlying nutritional deficiencies. Against this must be weighed the potential negative effects on health and performance and the possibility of inadvertent ingestion of a toxic substance or a prohibited doping agent.

Scientific interest in the nature and causes of exercise-induced fatigue developed through the 19th century, culminating in the publication in 1891 of a monograph on the subject by Angelo Mosso (Mosso, 1891). Mosso had developed an ergographic method to quantify fatigue of the muscles of the middle finger in response to voluntary or electrically evoked contractions. Other methodological advances led to a focus on different exercise models and on specific aspects of the fatigue process. August Krogh developed a reliable cycle ergometer that has remained the standard laboratory exercise model and also an accurate method for the analysis of expired air (Krogh, 1913). The introduction of the needle biopsy method for obtaining samples of human muscle, by Jonas Bergstrom in the 1960s, shifted the focus to the role of substrate depletion and metabolite accumulation in the active muscles (Bergstrom, 1962). A working definition of fatigue was proposed by Richard Edwards at the 1981 Ciba Foundation symposium: ‘fatigue is a failure to maintain the required or expected work output’ (Edwards, 1981). The symposium covered aspects of fatigue from the perspectives of the central and peripheral neuromuscular system. Various international symposia dedicated to the topic of fatigue were held in the 1980s and 1990s, for example, the 1994 International Symposium on Neural and Neuromuscular Aspects of Muscle Fatigue (Gandevia et al., 1994). As part of its 2019 annual meeting, hosted in Aberdeen, The Physiological Society organised five satellite symposia on the day prior to the main conference. The theme of one of these satellite symposia was ‘Fatigue as a limitation to performance’, and it was based upon three separate but inter-related sessions that focused on the neuromuscular system and fatigue, the cardiovascular system and fatigue, and finally, muscle metabolism and fatigue.

PRESENT 2020: Texto que desarrolla la lista de verificación para el adecuado informe de la evidencia en ensayos clínicos de deporte y nutrición del ejercicio (Traducción Inglés-Español)

This study investigated the combined effects of different levels of solar radiation and airflow on endurance exercise capacity and thermoregulatory responses during exercise-heat stress. Ten males cycled at 70% peak oxygen uptake until exhaustion in an environmental chamber (30°C, 50% relative humidity). Four combinations of solar radiation and airflow were tested (800 W•m⁻² and 10 km•h⁻¹ [High-Low], 800 W•m⁻² and 25 km•h⁻¹ [High-High], 0 W•m⁻² and 10 km•h⁻¹ [No-Low], and 0 W•m⁻² and 25 km•h⁻¹ [No-High]). Participants were exposed to solar radiation by a ceiling-mounted solar simulator (Metal halide lamps) and the headwind by two industrial fans. Time to exhaustion was shorter (P<0.05) in High-Low (mean±SD; 35±7 min) than the other trials and in High-High (43±6 min) and No-Low (46±9 min) than No-High (61±9 min). There was an interaction effect in total (dry+evaporative) heat exchange which was less in High-Low and High-High than No-Low and No-High, and in No-Low than No-High (all P<0.001). Core temperature, heart rate and thermal sensation were higher in high (High-Low and High-High) than no (No-Low and No-High) solar radiation trials and in lower (High-Low and No-Low) than higher (High-High and No-High) airflow trials (P<0.05). Mean skin temperature and rating of perceived exertion were higher in high than no solar radiation trials (P<0.05). This study indicates that combining high solar radiation and lower airflow have negative effects on thermoregulatory and perceptual strain and endurance exercise capacity than when combining high solar radiation and higher airflow and combining no solar radiation and lower/higher airflow during exercise-heat stress.

Football is a global game which is constantly evolving, showing substantial increases in physical and technical demands. Nutrition plays a valuable integrated role in optimising performance of elite players during training and match-play, and maintaining their overall health throughout the season. An evidence-based approach to nutrition emphasising, a 'food first' philosophy (ie, food over supplements), is fundamental to ensure effective player support. This requires relevant scientific evidence to be applied according to the constraints of what is practical and feasible in the football setting. The science underpinning sports nutrition is evolving fast, and practitioners must be alert to new developments. In response to these developments, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has gathered experts in applied sports nutrition research as well as practitioners working with elite football clubs and national associations/federations to issue an expert statement on a range of topics relevant to elite football nutrition: (1) match day nutrition, (2) training day nutrition, (3) body composition, (4) stressful environments and travel, (5) cultural diversity and dietary considerations, (6) dietary supplements, (7) rehabilitation, (8) referees and (9) junior high-level players. The expert group provide a narrative synthesis of the scientific background relating to these topics based on their knowledge and experience of the scientific research literature, as well as practical experience of applying knowledge within an elite sports setting. Our intention is to provide readers with content to help drive their own practical recommendations. In addition, to provide guidance to applied researchers where to focus future efforts.