Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance, 3d ed.

Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance, ed 3.

McArdle WD, Katch FI, Katch VL. Malvern, PA 19355-9725, Lea & Febiger, 1991, hardcover, 853 pp, illus, $47.50.

This is the third edition of this very popular undergraduate exercise physiology textbook by these authors. This new edition is organized in a similar fashion to the second edition, having two parts, the first of which discusses basic exercise physiology. This part includes sections on nutrition, the energy for physical activity, and the systems of energy delivery and utilization. The second part of the text is dedicated to applied exercise physiology, The three sections of this part include the enhancement of energy capacity work performance and environmental stress, and a section on body composition, energy balance, and weight control. There are a total of 30 chapter in the texthook, as well as nine excellent appendixes that range from SI unit conversions to nutritive values for common foods to frequently cited journals in exercise physiology.

One of the most outstanding improvements in this edition of Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Human Per ormance is the addition of color graphics and illustrations throughout the text. These illustrations are very well done and greatly enhance the readability and understanding of the context of the book. The authors, illustrators, and publisher are to be commended for the excellent job and presentation of these illustrations.

The authors have also done a fine job presenting the current concepts and most recent literature available in the field of exercise physiology. They discuss data and findings from many studies published in 1990. They have included topics within various sections that are currently receiving significant attention in the study of exercise physiology, such as drinks containing caffeine or bicarbonate used as ergogenic aids, assessment of anaerobic power, and some of the most recent findings and comparisions of body composition in selected athletic populations. The authors have also included a final chapter on aging and exercise that has been modified since the second edition.

Although the authors have included discussions of plyometrics and resistance training for children in the chapter on muscular strength, these sections could have been expanded a great deal. These are two areas that have direct application to physical therapy; yet, the authors provide very little new information. The remainder of the chapter on muscular strength, however, does provide a comprehensive review of many of the latest findings and adaptations that occur with resistance training (eg, fiber-type transformations, alterations in bone density with resistance training, delayed-onset muscle soreness research).

This text would serve well as an undergraduate text for pre-physical therapy students, as it has been written for the undergraduate market. The text would provide physical therapy students and physical therapists a good resource and reference on normal exercise physiology. The major limitation of the book as a text for a graduate exercise physiology course in a physical therapy curriculum is that the focus is on normal exercise physiology and does not address the adaptations of the principles of exercise physiology that are required in treating patients in physical therapy. Likewise, although the authors state in the preface that they have "tracked the emerging areas related to the broad scope of exercise physiology and sports medicine," the coverage of the multidisciplinary area of sports medicine is limited.

In conclusion, this third edition of Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Human Performce is well done, very informative, and would be a valuable resource for the physical therapy practitioner.

Jeffrey E Falkel, PhD, PT

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center 

Denver, Colo