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Fitness

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health

  • 48 Accesses

Introduction

Fitness is the quality of life characterized by how effectively the body can meet ordinary physical demands, as well as those demands that are unexpected and more challenging. Physical fitness is the capacity to perform normal daily activities with little effort, while being able to perform more difficult activities with increased effort and without significant fatigue. On the other hand, low physical fitness leads to significant fatigue even with light activity. Fitness levels differ among individuals and can be improved by engaging in physical activity, but can be worsened through physical inactivity.

Widespread acceptance exists of three physical fitness classifications related to skill, health, and physiology. Skill-related fitness is composed of agility, balance, coordination, speed, power, and reaction time. This class is the most advanced level of fitness and is associated mostly with sport and motor-skills performance; therefore, it is not necessary to master to...

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Suggested Readings

  • American College of Sports Medicine. (2006). ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (7th ed.). New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

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  • Bounds, L., Brekken-Shea, K., Agnor, D., & Darnell, G. (2009). Health and fitness: A guide to a healthy lifestyle. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt.

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  • Hoeger, W. W. K., & Hoeger, S. A. (2005). Lifetime physical fitness and wellness: A personalized program (8th ed.). Belmont: Thomson-Wadsworth.

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  • LeBoeuf, M. K., & Butler, L. F. (2008). Fit and active: The West Point physical development program. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

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  • Morris, M., & Schoo, A. (2004). Optimizing exercise and physical activity in older people. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann.

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  • Nash, R. (2003). Total stretch. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Julio Guerrero

  2. Center for the Study of Health Disparities (CSHD), Department of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Ranjita Misra

Authors
  1. Julio Guerrero
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  2. Ranjita Misra
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Sana Loue

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Martha Sajatovic

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Guerrero, J., Misra, R. (2012). Fitness. In: Loue, S., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Immigrant Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_293

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5659-0_293

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-5655-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5659-0

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