The University of Hong Kong

The Institute of Human Performance (IHP) is concerned broadly with the understanding, promotion and enhancement of physical activity and movement. [Movement in this context literally means the voluntary motion of the whole body or limb arising as a consequence of muscular contraction or effort.]

The unifying focus and core business of the IHP therefore includes understanding and enhancing movement as it occurs, not only in sport and physical education (as was the case with the IHP’s precursors CPES and PESSU) but also in fundamental movement skills, in workplace tasks, and in all forms of physical activity, including organized exercise, rehabilitation, and tasks of daily living.

This broadened focus of the IHP is in keeping with international trends for the academic study of physical education and sport to be progressively subsumed within the broader study of the field of kinesiology (literally, the study of movement) or human movement science.

Understanding and improving the uptake of physical activity is especially important given the profound health and social benefits of regular physical activity. These benefits include reduced prevalence and improved management of a range of chronic diseases and injuries, improved restoration of function following trauma and other medical conditions, improved work productivity, improved quality of life and functional independence (especially in elderly people), improved self esteem and resiliency, and reduced delinquency and social problems among youth.

Regular physical activity plays a central role in both the prevention and the management of the majority of the major conditions that kill and debilitate citizens of industrialised countries. The benefits of regular physical activity include reducing the risk of dying prematurely, reducing the risk of dying from heart disease, reducing the risk of developing type II diabetes, reducing the risk of developing hypertension, helping to reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension, reducing the risk of developing colon cancer, reducing feelings of depression and anxiety, helping in weight control, helping to build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints, promoting psychological well–being, and helping older adults become stronger and better able to move about without falling. Recent evidence also links physical inactivity to low back pain, breast cancer and sleep disorders.