Ask a couple of nonmajors what "exercise science" means, and one is likely to tell you it's synonymous with physical education and the other may say it involves pre paring personal trainers or fitness instructors. Although both assumptions hold some truth, the field of exercise science suffers from poor name recognition and is not well understood by many outsiders.

Exercise science students use underwater weighing tank to measure body composition.

The field emerged mainly in the 1970s as an outgrowth of the "nonteaching" aspects of the physical education curriculum. That is, students who wanted to learn how physical activity affected health and physical function but did not intend to teach physical education had only the non teaching curriculum as an option. The varied issues that generated the separation of exercise science from physical education have now evolved to the extent that we see exercise science-trained graduates working all around us in allied health and other professions. Indeed, "exercise science" affects all of us, some times in surprising ways.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the primary professional organization for exercise science, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, so it's appropriate to provide some history to better understand exercise science and how it affects us. Exercise science collectively em braces the study of the relationship between exercise or physical activity and physiology (exercise physiology), physics (biomechanics), psychology (sport and exercise psychology), neuroscience (neuromuscular control), medicine (e.g., cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation), and human movement (ergonomics).

The roots of exercise science took hold in ancient Greece and other societies of the Middle and Far East, but the greatest influence on Western civilization came from the Greek physicians Herodicus, Hippocrates, and Galen. Their work from roughly 500 B.C. to 200 A.D. produced recommendations for proper diet, physical activity, disease prevention, injury repair, and rehabilitation. Collectively they authored hundreds of treatises on health, medicine, and scientific hygiene, as well as the benefits of physical activity. References abound from the Renaissance period to the early 19th century of notable European scientists who provided the foundation for the study of human physiology during rest and exercise; they included Leonardo da Vinci (as anatomist and illustrator), Michelangelo (anatomist), Vesalius (anatomist and physician), and William Harvey (anatomist who detailed the circulation of blood).

The influence of European scientists and physicians shaped the thinking about health and hygiene in the United States in the early 1800s. Much of the work at that time came from research in medicine, chemistry, and biology. By the mid-19th century, U.S. medical school graduates assumed positions in medicine and in academia; many were associated with departments of physical education and hygiene. Part of their work involved supervising physical training programs for students and athletes. In fact, by the turn of the century preparation of physical education teachers at some colleges was similar to a premed curriculum. Seminal work in anthropometry (quantification of body size) and nutrition from Amherst College in the late 1800s and work from the Harvard Fatigue Lab after 1927 spawned the laboratory research in exercise physiology and exercise science that we use today. Foundation work in exercise science appeared in many well-known journals, such as Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of Applied Physiology, and Science. Con temporary research routinely appears in these journals as well as the Journal of the American Medical Association, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Experimental Brain Research, and other scientific journals.

The United States is at the forefront of medical technology and scientific debate. Sadly, Americans also are the most physically inactive and overweight population on earth. A sedentary lifestyle affects our well-being in many ways, increasing the incidence of chronic diseases, decreasing work productivity, and causing health care costs to skyrocket.

Advances in technology and medicinal treatments may address complicated health issues and keep people alive longer, but sometimes the quality of life that results is quite poor. How do we break the cycle to prevent disease and promote wellness through better lifestyle choices instead of the development of technology and drugs?

That's where exercise science comes in. Studying this subject prepares students to promote disease prevention through lifestyle choices, including physical activity. This promotion is achieved via many professional roles, with a common goal of maintaining, regaining, or improving physical function throughout a lifetime. In the most direct way, exercise science graduates work in clinics and use physical activity to rehabilitate patients with diseases (cardiac, pulmonary, cancer, diabetes, etc.) and work with athletes to enhance performance (strength and conditioning specialist). They also work with people who are obese, out of condition, or smokers; who have work-related physical problems; or who simply want to improve their fitness level. Application of exercise science also occurs at the subcellular level (molecular biology), the population level (public health epidemiology), and beyond (mission to Mars).

Leading the way for exercise science students at IC is a talented, vigorous faculty composed of both seasoned and new members. In the past year the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences welcomed two new faculty members. Deborah King, a biomechanist, has been working with students on her grant from the U.S. Olympic Committee, studying how to better train figure skaters to perform quad jumps. T. H. Reynolds '89, M.S. '91, teaches in the area of exercise physiology and is studying the effects of exercise on glucose metabolism and diabetes.

The many professional roles Ithaca College exercise graduates play include athletic trainer; wellness and fitness instructor, administrator, or manager; personal trainer; physician (allopathic, naturopathic, osteopathic); exercise specialist; chiropractor; veterinarian; dentist; pharmacist; physical therapist; occupational therapist; nurse; physician's assistant; scientist; research lab coordinator; writer; journalist; prosthetist; occupational physiologist; medical equipment salesperson, epidemiologist; professor; pharmaceutical salesperson; coach; clinical faculty member; and fitness club owner.

While ACSM is now 50 years old, the professional venues for graduates in this field are younger and continue to be defined as the wellness of society demands. As our students and alumni work with young and old, active and inactive, diseased and well, injured athletes and laborers, military personnel, astronauts, firefighters, police, senior athletes, and obese children, it is clear that we all need exercise science.

Photo by Robert Llewellyn