Home: PE 109/282
Finding Journal Articles

Finding Books

Fitness and Wellness Web Sites
Health Related
Other Sports Medicine
Evaluating Web Sites

PE 109/282: Advanced Aerobics and Leadership

Fitness and Wellness Information on the Internet

Health

Internet Gateways and General Guides

  • MEDLINEplus (http://medlineplus.gov/)
    A gateway to health information for health professionals and consumers from the world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine. "MEDLINEplus has extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources on over 500 diseases and conditions. There are also lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia and dictionaries, health information in Spanish, extensive information on prescription and nonprescription drugs, health information from the media, and links to thousands of clinical trials." Updated daily.

  • healthfinder (http://www.healthfinder.gov/)
    A gateway consumer health information Web site from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, together with other Federal agencies. Includes a Spanish version.

Other Health-Related Sites

  • American Heart Association (http://www.americanheart.org/)
    The site provides information and education about heart disease and stroke.

  • MayoClinic.com (http://www.mayoclinic.com/)
    Includes Diseases & Conditions A-Z, Drug (information) Search, and Healthy Living Centers.
    Each Healthy Living Center contains "a collection of information and tools to help you stay healthy." Two examples are the Fitness & Sports Medicine Center and the Working Life Center (for better health on the job).

  • STD Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/dstdp.html). From the Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Prevention, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    Disease facts and information, treatment guidelines, statistics, and more.

Nutrition

  • Nutrition.gov (http://www.nutrition.gov/)
    "A gateway to reliable information on nutrition, healthy eating, physical activity, and food safety for consumers, educators and health professionals." Includes links to

    • MyPyramid.gov (http://www.mypyramid.gov/)
      MyPyramid Plan--an online tool that gives one a quick estimate of what and how much they need to eat, based on their age, sex, and activity level.
      MyPyramid Tracker--"an online dietary and physical activity assessment tool that provides information on one's diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient and physical activity information."
    • What's In the Foods You Eat Search Tool (http://www.ars.usda.gov/foodsearch)
      A user-friendly, searchable database "where users can view a 60-nutrient profile for each of more than 13,000 foods," including fast food items and packaged food mixes. The data are provided in commonly consumed portion sizes and weights.

  • Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) (http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/). Food and Drug Administration.
    Includes links to Selected Non-FDA Sources of Food and Nutrition Information (http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/nutrlist.html) and Consumer Advice (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/advice.html) on nutrition, foodborne illness, and other topics.

  • Food and Nutrition Topics from A to Z. From the Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) (http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/fnic.html)

Exercise, Sports, and Sports Medicine

Internet Gateways and General Guides

  • SPORTQuest (http://www.sportquest.com/)
    A search engine and directory of sport and fitness-related Web sites. Directory links are listed by sport or by topic.

  • Sports & Physical Education (http://wwwsju.stjohns.edu/library/staugustine/sports.html) Provides links to general sports sites and to sites devoted to specific sports.

Other Exercise, Sports, and Sports Medicine-Related Sites

  • American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine (http://www.aapsm.org/)
    Intended for the public, this site provides information on knee, foot, and ankle athletic injuries, as well as providing evaluations of sport shoes.

  • American College of Sports Medicine (http://www.acsm.org/index.asp)
    The General Health & Fitness Information section includes links to

    • Current Comments, "proactive statements concerning sports medicine and exercise science-related topics of interest to the public"
    • ACSM's Fit Society® Page newsletter, "a quarterly electronic newsletter written for the general public on a variety of popular health and fitness topics"
    • guidelines for aerobic activity
    • product purchase recommendations

  • ESPN.com's Training Room (http://espn.go.com/trainingroom/index.html)
    Articles on sports fitness and injuries.

  • FitnessCOACH (http://www.life-n-leisure.com/)
    Animated exercise instruction for muscle toning or bodybuilding.

  • Sports Injuries (http://www.healthy.net/library/books/healthyself/sportsinj.htm)
    Medical self-care from the American Institute of Preventive Medicine.

Bodybuilding Web Sites and Online Publications

  • International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) (http://www.ifbb.com/). Professional.

  • National Physique Committee (NPC) (http://www.npcnewsonline.com/new/). Amateur.
    The official Web site of the National Physique Committee, Inc. and the NPC News Magazine.

  • Bodybuilding (http://www.bodybuilding.about.com/)
    A guide with featured articles and a bodybuilding glossary, as well as links to sites on competitions, athletic apparel and equipment, nutrition and diet, and more.
    The Online Strength Magazines & Journals section provides links to the online versions of several popular bodybuilding and strength training magazines and publications, including

    • Dolfzine (http://www.dolfzine.com/)
    • Fitness (http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/)

    It also provides access to the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (JSSM) (http://www.jssm.org/), a scholarly electronic journal which publishes research and review articles, together with case studies, in the fields of sports medicine and the exercise sciences.

  • Muscle & Fitness Online (http://www.muscle-fitness.com/). The online version of the magazine.
  • Muscle & Fitness Hers (http://www.muscleandfitnesshers.com/hers.html). Bi-monthly.

To find other Web sites, use one of the many available search engines. For searching tips and comparisons of the features of various search engines, see

For examples showing how to cite Internet resources, see Citing Electronic Resources from the Internet Public Library.

Evaluating Internet Resources

More and more information is being made available via the Internet. Please be aware that not all of the information on the Internet is current or accurate. Also, many sources of information are not yet available over the Internet. See some guidelines for evaluating Internet resources below.

Some things to consider when evaluating Internet resources:

  • Scope. Is the topic adequately covered? What is the breadth and depth of the information presented?
  • Criteria. Are there stated criteria for the inclusion of information or links?
  • Content. What information is presented, and how well is it presented?
  • Purpose. Is the purpose stated, or can you determine the purpose for which the site is designed?
  • Audience. Is the level of information appropriate to the intended audience?
  • Accuracy. Is the information provided accurate? If you're not sure, can you contact the author? Is the information cited correctly?
  • Authority. Who published the document? Who is the "Webmaster"? What are their credentials? Check the domain of the document to find out what type of institution publishes the document. For example: .edu .com .org .gov
  • Objectivity. Is the information presented objectively? Is there bias? What type of information is presented? What is the purpose or goal of the site?
  • Currency. How current is the information presented? When was the site last updated? Do all the links on the page still work?
  • Uniqueness. Is the information presented unique? Does the site present original information, or does it point to external links?
  • Value. What is the relative value of the site? How does it compare to other sites? Has the site been reviewed? How relevant is the information?
  • Ease of use. Is it easy to navigate around the site and locate information? Is the site searchable? Is the site designed well?
  • Stability. Do links to other sites work? Can you usually connect to the site? Is the URL stable?

To get additional practice evaluating Web pages, see The ICYouSee Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web, a teaching guide from Ithaca College Library.

Librarian Contact Information