ABSTRACT: According to the global recommendations on physical activity for health of World Health Organization (WHO), adults aged 18 years and older should perform at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity weekly or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity weekly or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity. In addition, WHO recommends that muscle-strengthening activities, involving major muscle groups, should be done on two or more days weekly. Although muscle-strengthening exercise essentially gives rise to the recommended physical activity for health, muscle training is always ignored by general public probably due to the incomprehension or myths about muscle training. This talk aims to provide a comprehensive understanding on the importance of muscle-strengthening exercise or muscle training in public health promotion. The relationship between skeletal muscle and health from young adults to elders will be addressed. The issues of muscle hypertrophy in response to resistance training and muscle atrophy with sarcopenia will be discussed. This talk will also provide updates on the latest discovered mechanisms that underlie the health benefits of muscle training.

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SPEAKER'S BIOGRAPHY: Dr Parco Siu is an Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Kinesiology at the School of Public Health at the University of Hong Kong. He obtained his PhD training in exercise physiology at West Virginia University School of Medicine followed by postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. Dr Siu is a Fellow of Royal Society of Biology (FRSB), Fellow of American College of Sports Medicine (FACSM), Fellow of European College of Sport Science (FECSS), and Fellow of Hong Kong Association of Sports Medicine and Sports Science (FHKASMSS). He was elected Chartered Scientist (CSci) of Science Council, Chartered Biologist (CBiol) of Royal Society of Biology, and Registered Nutritionist (RNutr) specialised in sports nutrition of Association for Nutrition, U.K. Dr Siu’s research focuses on exercise physiology and muscle biology. His research studies the health-promoting effects as well as the underlying mechanisms of different exercise modalities. Dr Siu was the first Hong Kong scholar to be honored to receive the Visiting Scholar Award of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). He was also the first scholar from Hong Kong and China to be presented the New Investigator Award of ACSM. Furthermore, Dr Siu had been the recipient of various research awards including the National Student Research Award of ACSM, Research Career Enhancement Award, International Union of Physiological Sciences Travel Award and Beginning Investigator Award of the American Physiological Society (APS), and the Young Investigator Award of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine (SEBM). Dr Siu is actively involving in local community by serving as the Vice President of the Hong Kong Association of Sports Medicine and Sports Science (HKASMSS) and the Executive Committee Member of the Physical Fitness Association of Hong Kong (HKPFA) to contribute to the development of the field in exercise science and sports medicine in Hong Kong.