Dr. Bill Roberts Named ACSM Chief Medical Officer

The American College of Sports Medicine® (ACSM) has named William Roberts, M.D., FACSM, as the organization’s new chief medical officer. The move was announced by ACSM Chief Executive Officer Kristin Belleson. “Bill is an excellent choice for this critical role and was selected from a deep and impressive pool of candidates,” Belleson said.

Taking a Break from Dieting Reduces Hunger, Increases Adherence to Diet with No Detriment to Fat or Weight Loss

A sustained energy deficit with restricted food intake and increased physical activity is accepted as a reliable means to reduce body weight and body fat. However, most individuals find maintaining adherence to these conditions difficult in the face of increasing…

What Factors Put Runners at Risk for Exertional Heat Stroke During a Marathon?

Exertional heat stroke (EHS) can develop in participants at running events. A runner with EHS overheats beyond their capacity to cool and can suffer organ damage, and even death, if not rapidly cooled. Understanding the factors that may lead to…

American College of Sports Medicine Issues Statement on Mental Health Challenges for Athletes

This year’s Olympics brought countless memories, exceptional human performance and visibility to challenges faced by all athletes, elite or otherwise. Perhaps central to these challenges was the relationship between athletes and mental health. This new ACSM statement offers several resources.

Arlington, Va., Named ‘Fittest City’ in 2021 American Fitness Index Ranking of Top 100

CSM and the Anthem Foundation release the 2021 American Fitness Index, ranking America’s 100 largest cities on health behaviors, chronic disease and community infrastructure indicators. Arlington, Va. earned the title of “America’s Fittest City.” Minneapolis, Minnesota; Seattle, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Washington, D.C.; St. Paul, Minnesota; Irvine, California; Portland, Oregon; and Atlanta, Georgia; round out the top 10 fittest cities.

ACSM / Anthem American Fitness Index to Reveal 2021 Fittest City

For more than a decade, the evidence-based ACSM / Anthem American Fitness Index has recognized the critical role physical activity and city infrastructure play in a city’s overall health and fitness. ACSM and the Anthem Foundation will release the 2021 Fitness Index rankings at 7 a.m. EDT on July 13.

Suiting Up to Ensure Safe Environments for All Youth Athletes

The National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute, a joint initiative between the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and Sanford Health, launches policy agenda to protect kids participating in sports. The institute to work with state legislators to act on seven critical areas of athlete health.

June 5 Research Highlights for ACSM Annual Meeting

ACSM’s comprehensive sports medicine and exercise science conference takes place virtually from June 1 to 5 with programming covering the science, practice, public health and policy aspects of sports medicine, exercise science and physical activity. View program highlights.

June 4 Research Highlights from ACSM Annual Meeting

ACSM’s comprehensive sports medicine and exercise science conference takes place virtually from June 1 to 5 with programming covering the science, practice, public health and policy aspects of sports medicine, exercise science and physical activity. View program highlights.

ACSM Announces 2020 Paper of the Year Selections

The ACSM Publications Committee established an annual Paper of the Year Award in 2020 to recognize one scientific article from each of ACSM’s five journals. Award-winning articles are selected based on impact, research significance, conceptual design and/or technical innovation.

ACSM Annual Meeting Research Highlights for June 3

ACSM’s comprehensive sports medicine and exercise science conference takes place virtually from June 1 to 5 with programming covering the science, practice, public health and policy aspects of sports medicine, exercise science and physical activity.

ACSM Annual Meeting Research Highlights for June 1

ACSM’s comprehensive sports medicine and exercise science conference kicks off June 1 with programming covering the science, practice, public health and policy aspects of sports medicine, exercise science and physical activity. View program highlights.

Prenatal Exercise and Cardiovascular Health

Prenatal exercise is associated with a 40% reduction of developing high blood pressure during pregnancy, yet the underlying reasons for this are not known. Investigators performed a randomized controlled trial to determine the effects of an aerobic exercise training program…

Measuring the Feasibility and Effectiveness of an Individualized Exercise Program Delivered Virtually to Cancer Survivors

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in social distancing limitations not previously experienced, forcing practitioners to adapt exercise programming to a virtual model. The purpose of this investigation was to measure the effectiveness of a virtual exercise oncology program in 491 participants…

Exercise to Improve Health: Fast, Furious and Infrequent or Slow, Steady and Sustainable?

Exercise is well-known to reduce the risk of chronic diseases like hypertension, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. While moderate-intensity continuous exercise (END) has traditionally been recommended to achieve these meaningful benefits, the time-effective alternative of sprint interval training (SIT)…

Research Highlights from Upcoming 2021 Virtual ACSM Annual Meeting: Athlete Care and Clinical Medicine

If you’re looking for new story ideas, here is a selection of talks on athlete care and clinical medicine-based topics that will be presented during ACSM’s Virtual Annual Meeting, June 1-5.

Research Highlights from 2021 ACSM Virtual Annual Meeting: Exercise in Regenerative Medicine

The 2021 Virtual ACSM Basic Science World Congress focuses on regenerative medicine. Chaired by Marcas M. Bamman, Ph.D., FACSM, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, this world congress brings together researchers to discuss cutting-edge science in this rapidly developing field.

Journalists: Be our guest at the 2021 Virtual ACSM Research Conference

Gain story ideas and learn about cutting-edge science at ACSM’s comprehensive sports medicine and exercise science conference that covers the science, practice, public health and policy aspects of sports medicine, exercise science and physical activity.

Greening the Earth and Improving Health through Human-Powered Transport

Driving has become a way of life for people throughout the world. However, heavy reliance on gas-powered vehicles contributes to three problems (global climate change, air pollution and physical inactivity) that result in millions of deaths per year. As developing…

Can the Gut Cope with Night Exercise?

Gut issues are common with endurance exercise, ranging from mild discomfort to severe debilitating symptoms warranting reduced exercise workload or even cessation from activity. Considering the recent exponential growth of nighttime endurance and ultra-endurance events, athletes anecdotally report having more…

Train the Brain: How Stroboscopic Training Speeds Up the Brain’s Visual System

The brain’s visual system is a crucial performance determinant in elite sports. To reach a high level, athletes must rapidly transfer visual information into movement (i.e., fast reaction time). Consequently, this raises the question – how can we train the…

Insights about the Genetic Basis for Concussion

Despite significant advances in treatment, sports-related concussion continues to plague athletes. Part of the reason for this is that the biological basis of concussion is poorly understood. Genetics play a key role in the biology underlying concussion. In this study,…

Does a Ketogenic Diet Impair Athletic Performance?

A low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) or “ketogenic” diet has grown in popularity due to its ability to increase the rate of fat burning during exercise. For elite athletes this comes at the expense of athletic performance. The LCHF diet also increases…

Lifestyle Interventions to Reduce Blood Sugar: Don’t Forget Resistance Exercise

In the past 30 years, prediabetes (elevated fasting or post-meal blood sugar below the levels required for diagnosis of type 2 diabetes) has grown into a major epidemic affecting nearly one in three adults. Previous studies have shown that combining…

Get Off the Couch! Replacing Sedentary Time with Physical Activity or Sleep Improves Heart Health

National and international guidelines recommend replacing the amount of time spent being sedentary with physical activity to improve health. This message is especially important in the face of COVID-19, as overall sedentary behaviors have increased substantially. In fact, research suggests…

ACSM Publishes New Guidance for Safer Practices in Weight-Category Sports

American College of Sports Medicine shares new guidelines for safer practices and more equitable competitions for athletes in weight-category sports. New statement updates and replaces previous guidelines released by ACSM in 1996.

ACSM and Technogym Partner to Promote Physical Activity, Improve Quality of Life

ACSM and Technogym renew long-standing partnership to promote the importance of physical activity and combat chronic disease and illness. The agreement focuses on expanding impact of global Exercise is Medicine initiative.

Effectiveness of HIIE versus MICT in Improving Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Health and Disease

A healthy lifestyle is composed primarily of regular structured physical activity (i.e., exercise). As a result, there is vast research into the clinical benefits of exercise, in most cases showing a better effect than drug interventions. Current physical activity guidelines…

Does More Physical Activity and Less TV Viewing Reduce the Risk of Death?

Insufficient physical activity and sedentary behavior are both associated with higher risk of chronic disease and death. However, the long-term benefits of interventions to increase physical activity and reduce sitting time are unknown as randomized controlled trials are often infeasible…

Blood-flow Restriction Training Delay the Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is recognized as a public health problem, affecting more than 15% of the population. Although CKD can drastically impair health, it is rarely diagnosed early due to its silent revelation. Identifying and proposing treatments to attenuate…

Reduced Sitting Time Improves Blood Flow in Brain and Legs

During a regular day, the average person sits for eight to 10 hours. These high levels of sitting time seem linked to an increased risk for both cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. First, researchers found that three hours of sitting results…

Attenuated Rapid-Onset Vasodilation to Forearm Muscle Contraction in Black Men

Kaur and colleagues reported that rapid onset vasodilation induced by a single contraction of the forearm muscles was significantly attenuated in non-Hispanic Black men, compared to white men, and this attenuation was evident even at low intensity muscle contractions. The…

Time-restricted Eating Reduces Body Weight in Runners without Impacting Performance

Intermittent fasting is becoming increasingly popular due to its simple advice: Don’t change what you eat; simply change when you eat. One popular method of intermittent fasting, 16:8 time-restricted eating (TRE), involves 16 hours fasting and eight hours eating each…

Online Training is New Top Fitness Trend for 2021 according to ACSM Annual Forecast

ACSM’s annual fitness trend forecast, now in its 15th year, predicts what you’ll see in fitness in the next year and helps the health and fitness industry make critical programming and business decisions that ultimately affect consumers.

Detection of Blood Transfusion

Autologous blood transfusion is performance enhancing, and detection of abuse remains a major challenge in sports. To address this issue, investigators transfused a group of men with either blood or saline, and evaluated whether metabolites collected in urine before and…

BFFs: How Physical Exercise Impacts Brain Blood Flow, Memory after Paralysis

Thanks to advances in health care in the past several decades, more than 90% of people who have had a spinal cord injury survive beyond the first year. The focus now is managing the long-term impact of spinal cord injury…

Break Up Your Work Day with Healthy Stair Climbing Exercise Snacks

Sitting for long periods is known to have negative effects on metabolic and cardiovascular health. Building on recent work showing that brief bouts of vigorous exercise (exercise “snacks”) can improve fitness, investigators from the University of British Columbia in Canada…

New Year, New Weight Loss Program? Exercise More Important than Protein for Muscle Function in Older Women

In the U.S., most older women are overweight or obese, which can harm functional health like rising from a chair. Weight loss diets that are higher in protein are popular as they often cause greater body fat loss while keeping…

American College of Sports Medicine to Reveal Top Fitness Trends for 2021

MEDIA ADVISORY WHAT: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every person and every industry this year. It forced fitness facilities to close and disrupted interactions with clients, causing significant economic impact for the health and fitness industry. It also accelerated health and…

ACSM Updates Education Requirement to Maintain Gold Standard Certifications

The American College of Sports Medicine Committee on Certification and Registry Boards announces substantial changes to the educational requirements for its two highest level certifications, the ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and the ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist.

Top Sports Medicine Experts to Address COVID-19 and Athlete Care

Competitors at all levels have been impacted by COVID-19. Team physicians, athletic trainers and physical therapists now face unique challenges caring for athletes. Top sports medicine experts will address key issues surrounding competitive and recreational athlete care during COVID-19 at the 2020 Advanced Team Physician Course, a collaborative effort between ACSM, AMSSM and AOSSM.

Move More or Sit Less: How to Maintain a Healthy Brain

Worldwide, a person is diagnosed with dementia every three seconds. Regular physical activity and limited sedentary behavior (i.e., time spent sitting or lying down) are two important lifestyle strategies for maintaining good brain health. However, we do not know which…

Exercise During Pregnancy: A Prescription for Improved Maternal/Fetal Well-being

Evidence now supports the safety and health benefits of prenatal physical activity for pregnant women. Therefore, it is critical that women and exercise professionals shift their individual and collective perspective of prenatal physical activity away from the potential risks of…

Menopause May Affect Improvements in Exercise Fitness

All women go through menopause, usually between the ages of 46 and 54. Their periods stop, and they can no longer get pregnant. Postmenopausal women also have lower heart function. This study investigated whether menopause influences heart function and exercise…

Quantity and Context of Physical Activity: Important Factors in the Relationship with Pain

Many people are affected by painful conditions like low back pain, arthritis and cancer. Pain can be difficult to treat, with few safe and effective options. Some research suggests that being physically active can reduce the severity and impact of…

Hourly 4-s Cycle Sprints Prevent Inactivity-Induced Impairment of Fat Metabolism

It is well known that daily exercise has health benefits, and physical inactivity is unhealthy. Inactivity, typically characterized by daily sitting time, needs to be interrupted periodically with physical activity. However, the most effective amount and type of activity have…

ACSM and National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute Named NYSS ChampionSM

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognize ACSM and the National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute as two of the first organizations to join the National Youth Sports Strategy Champion program, helping to foster a lifelong love of sports and physical activity for youth.

Exercise in Type 2 Diabetes: Does the Dose of Exercise Matter?

For people with type 2 diabetes, both aerobic exercise training (like walking or jogging) and resistance exercise training (strength training) lead to improvements in blood sugar control, and a combination of aerobic and resistance training results in larger improvements. In…