The prevalence of chronic illness or disability in adolescence has increased in recent years due to medical advances, and adolescents are now more than ever able to lead a productive life even in spite of serious illness. In the past, children with many diseases would not reach adolescence, but over the last decade or more the survival rate for children with cystic fibrosis, for spina bifida and congenital heart disease has increased. The old morbidity (infectious disease, poor housing, poverty, lack of immunisation) has been exchanged with the new morbidity of adolescence, where a longer...

Sports participation by adolescents is considered a rite of passage in Western society. Adolescents participate in sports for many reasons. This book includes topics that exemplify some of the many facets of sport participation by adolescents that have implications for individual and public health.