Preface

This book comprises six chapters. The first chapter is the introductory chapter. The second chapter, Outdoor Recreation: Physiological Effects and Prevention of Socially Important Diseases, addresses the physiological effects of different kinds of outdoor recreation in relation to the intensity of the activity and assesses their benefits in the prevention of socially important diseases.

In Chapter three, Physiological Responses to Outdoor Recreation: How it Can Help you Prepare your Outdoor Activity and How to Intervene, you will be introduced to human physiological responses to different environmental challenges; thermoregulation, energy demand, musculoskeletal injury risks, sleep and recovery during outdoor activities and how to better prepare for them in the wild. Better understanding of possible incidents that can be encountered in outdoor recreation activities can improve the planning and risk mitigation. The chapter comprises guidelines for how to behave in various situations.

A great opportunity to create new interest in outdoor activity is to get children to participate from an early age. On the other hand, it should be mentioned that many adults start to get interested in their adulthood. To make outdoor recreation natural for children, they should be exposed to the activity in kindergarten and at school. The activity must feel fun and enjoyable for the children, and very importantly, affordable. The recess at school is a nice place to start. There, the children can participate on their own terms. The aspirations should be that the children are happy to be outside and active. You can read more about this in Chapter four: Outdoor Recreation within the School Setting: A Physiological and Psychological Exploration.

Outdoor recreation can be subdivided into two categories: nature-based recreation and user-based recreation such as parks. The need for public parks is increasing, especially in very urbanized areas. People need a place to be outdoors in the cities. The problem very often is to find good locations as well as the financing for building the parks. In Chapter five, Introducing Park Facilities and Novelties to Support Individual's Intention to (Re) Visit, you can learn how policymakers could consider brownfield regeneration more efficiently.

The cost of building a park is high, but in the long run, outdoor activity in parks etc. can contribute to reduced costs in the hospital sector, for example. There is a preventive public health effect in having green areas available in the big cities.

In Chapter six, Folk-Based Outdoor Games as Means to Improve the Physical Activity and Emotional Well-Being of Pre-School Children, you can read about how Russian folklore can be used as an activity to stimulate to outdoor activity. This type of activity is useful for teachers or other personnel working with children and has a documented effect on the children's motion abilities and cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

The themes of the chapters in the book are entirely the authors' ideas. Thanks to the

Acknowledgments

I would also like to thank IntechOpen for cooperation during this book project.

authors for their great contributions.
