Human Fatigue Evolution, Health and Performance

Fatigue is a condition spanning the breadth of human functioning in health and disease and is a central concern in sport and exercise. Even so we are yet to fully understand its causes. One reason for this lack of understanding is that we seldom consider fatigue from an evolutionary perspective - as an adaptation that provided reproductive success. This ground-breaking book outlines the evidence that fatigue is a result of adaptations distinctive to humans. It argues that humans developed adaptations which led to enhanced fatigue resistance compared with other mammals and discusses the implications in the context of exercise, health and performance. Highly illustrated throughout, it covers topics such as defining and measuring fatigue, the emotional aspect of fatigue, how thermoregulation affects the human capacity to resist fatigue, and fatigue in disease. Human Fatigue is essential reading for all exercise scientists as well as graduate and undergraduate students in the broad field of physiology and exercise physiology.

1. Evolution and Natural Selection in Human Performance, Health and Disease, 2. Safety Factors, Reserve and Trade-offs, 3. Not Just Cousins, 4. Defining and Measuring Fatigue, 5. Morphology and Skeletal Muscle, 6. The Brain: The Emotional Aspect of Fatigue, 7. The Environment: Temperature and The Human Capacity to Resist Fatigue, 8. Energy In, Energy Out – And Fatigue, 9. Power Versus Endurance, 10. Fatigue in Disease

Francesco E. Marino is Professor of Physiology and Head of the School of Exercise Science, Sport and Health at Charles Sturt University, Australia. He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, the University of Verona in Italy and Harvard University, Cambridge in the USA. In 2016 he was awarded the prestigious Memorial Spitfire Fellowship for his work on hydration and human performance in the heat.