Exercise Immunology

Book excerpt: Exercise immunology is an important, emerging sub-discipline within exercise physiology, concerned with the relationship between exercise, immune function and infection risk. This book offers a comprehensive, up-to-date and evidence-based introduction to exercise immunology, including the physiological and molecular mechanisms that determine immune function and the implications for health and performance in sport and everyday life. Written by a team of leading exercise physiologists, the book describes the characteristics of the immune system and how its components are organised to form an immune response. It explains the physiological basis of the relationship between stress, physical activity, immune function and infection risk, and identifies the ways in which exercise and nutrition interact with immune function in athletes and non-athletes. The book shows students how to evaluate the strengths and limitations of the evidence linking physical activity, immune system integrity and health, and explains why exercise is associated with anti-inflammatory effects that are potentially beneficial to long-term health. Every chapter includes useful features, such as clear summaries, definitions of key terms, discussions of seminal research studies and practical guidelines for athletes on ways to minimise infection risk, with additional learning resources available on a companion website. This is an essential textbook for any course on exercise immunology or advanced exercise physiology.