Functional foods (FFs) is a term used to describe food products or natural substances that have health-promoting effects. The methods to evaluate the specific biological and physiological effects of FFs are important to understand the health benefit roles of certain FFs accurately. Current methods used in the evaluation of FFs are multiscale science, in vitro, in vivo, ex vivo, and in silico studies. However, systematic, standardized, and handbook-like methods collections are demanded.

Since a full-size handbook might be a mammoth project, we are establishing this methods collection on using exercise-related methods to evaluate health condition, and the health-promoting effects of functional foods. Exercise science, or kinesiology, is a newly-developed research field. Exercise performance tests, including aerobic exercise tolerance, strength and flexibility test, etc. are important ways to evaluate health condition. This collection will bring together techniques developed for estimating the health-promoting role of FFs through exercise performance, as well as the tests used for evaluating health condition using exercise performance tests.

At the same time, acute, strenuous exercise can cause adverse effects to individuals including severe inflammation, organ dysfunction and immune suppression. Therefore, this section will also include the establishment of strenuous exercise models and how to judge the protective effects of FFs on exercise-induced unwanted events.