https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.116.7

While Sport and Exercise Science Education: Impact on the UK Economy focuses on the financial impact of SES courses, it builds on research generously provided by institutions representing over 250,000 students from across the UK. The report features case studies demonstrating the wider benefits for students, graduates, the national economy and wider society. Below are some of these contributions.

Jo Bowtell University of Exeter, UK

The Bioactives and Exercise research group (BioActivEx) led by Jo Bowtell at the University of Exeter is focused on investigating the effects of bioactives and exercise on musculoskeletal, cognitive, vascular and metabolic ageing, and exercise performance. A combination of whole-body, cellular and molecular techniques are employed to perform hypothesis-driven research. We are currently conducting a project led by Mary O’Leary, in which we are investigating the effects of phytoestrogen-rich shatavari root on bone and muscle metabolism in post-menopausal women. This project has been funded by Pukka Herbs, an organic herbal beverage and supplement company. Vivien Rolfe, Head of Herbal Research a Pukka Herbs has said “We are very excited about the Exeter University research partnership as it will provide a comprehensive exploration of shatavari’s effects. Working with the team at Exeter allows us to conduct outstanding research, and we aim to grow this more deeply through internships and Pukka scholarships”. Through our partnerships with Pukka and others, BioActivEx will continue to generate and evaluate evidence-based bioactive interventions to support longevity, exercise performance and quality of life.

Camila Rodrigues BSc Sport and Exercise Science University of Sunderland 2018 graduate

My research investigated the feasibility of getting inactive, overweight, sedentary individuals active using a 12-week personalised exercise programme in a fun and enjoyable social environment. The programme gradually progressed from an hour of low-intensity twice weekly to moderate- and vigorous-intensity exercise. Pre and post measures of sedentary behaviour, moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), mental well-being and depression were measured. Results showed the positive impact of personalised exercise on health with a reduction in sedentary behaviour, body mass index and depression score, and an increase in MVPA, mental well-being and perceived fitness.

Exercise physiology not only informed the programme design (frequency, intensity, mode and duration) and rate of progression but allowed me to accommodate individual needs based on age, sex, body size, body composition and medical history. It allowed me to explain what was happening inside the body; beneficial metabolic, cardiorespiratory and musculoskeletal changes and why we sometimes ache a little after exercise! Exercise physiology opened up many interesting conversations including the importance of fluid intake and nutrition, energy balance and the dangers of overtraining, and adaptations to potentially hostile environments (cold, heat and high altitude).

Lydia Simpson Bangor University, UK

Understanding the complex and integrative nature of how the body responds to exercise is vitally important in not only optimising sporting performance but also improving health and managing disease. Research in this discipline is fundamental to global health, as physical inactivity is fast becoming one of the biggest problems facing western society. A sport and exercise science degree is often considered a poor man’s medicine degree; but, exercise is medicine. My research focuses on how the sympathetic “fight or flight” nervous system is activated during exposure to low oxygen availability, which can be experienced at high altitude or in disease. More specifically, I determine how this 
affects blood pressure control and what enables high-altitude populations to thrive under these conditions.

Christopher Jones Swansea University, UK

The Swansea University LookAhead project is funded by Sports & Wellbeing Analytics (SWA) and uses the PROTECHT system to objectively monitor head impacts in contact sports. The research project’s initial focus was validating the PROTECHT system. After the system had been completely validated, the focus has progressed to monitoring head impacts in a number of sports such as professional men’s rugby union, women’s rugby, American football and field and ice hockey. Through the system it is possible to start to characterise and quantify the head impact demands of these sports, and subsequently look to improve the performance and welfare of an individual or team.

Mike Tipton University of Portsmouth, UK

The University of Portsmouth research in cold water immersion physiology is the foundation of the search, rescue and treatment of a large number of organisations worldwide. For example, research led by Mike Tipton, Heather Massey, Clare Eglin, and Martin Barwood (now Leeds Trinity University) has played a key role in the development of new approaches to drowning prevention and water safety education. Drowning is a significant risk for sportspeople engaged in sports on and near water, and a leading cause of accidental death in the UK, particularly in young people, causing approximately 400 deaths per year. Aside from the human cost, drowning and related incidents cost over £63 million per year, costs that can be prevented by safety measures and education. To that end, Portsmouth’s research has underpinned the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s “Respect the Water” National Water Safety Campaign, informing its “know about Cold Shock” and “Float First” approach to cold-water survival. This campaign has been cited by a number of drowning-incident survivors, without solicitation, as the reason they survived an immersion.

John Saxton Northumbria University, UK

Research at Northumbria University led by Professor John Saxton, in collaboration with clinical colleagues based in Newcastle, Norwich, and Sheffield, is investigating the important role that structured exercise programmes can play in improving the quality and duration of cancer survivorship. Cancers of the breast, prostate, and colon are amongst the most common in western societies and although survival rates are increasing, the physiological impact of these cancers and their treatments is long-lasting. Current research is focused on (i) the role of exercise training, in conjunction with dietary advice, in reversing adverse body composition changes in hormone-positive breast cancer patients, (ii) exercise interventions for ameliorating the side-effects of prostate cancer and its treatments, and (iii) how exercise programmes prior to surgery can be used to improve fitness and treatment outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. Macmillan Cancer Support predicts that support for people with cancer beyond their initial treatment will cost the NHS at least £1.4 billion every year by 2020. This research is closely aligned with NHS treatment pathways and is helping to build a solid evidence base to support the use of exercise in the clinical and self-management of people living with and beyond cancer.