Hayato Uchida

This study investigated the status of children with obesity before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects of lifestyle guidance on weight loss among children in Japan. We analysed the data of patients who visited our hospital after check-ups for obesity and evaluated the efficacy of lifestyle guidance. The patients were divided into groups A, B, and C (year 2011, 2019, and 2021, respectively). There were no differences in body weight, obesity index (OI), blood pressure, or alanine transaminase (ALT) levels between the groups; however, aspartate transaminase (AST) level was the highest in Group C. In Group C, only OI increased between the primary and secondary screenings; however, OI and body mass index (BMI) improved during the second screening and more children in the weight loss group followed lifestyle guidance. OI/BMI did not change over the past decade; however, short-term weight gain was significant owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and simple guidance was effective in reducing weight. Future challenges include identifying methods to achieve long-term weight loss.

In 418 third- through sixth-grade students at Elementary School N in Osaka City (218 boys and 200 girls) and all 567 students at Junior High School S in Osaka City (281 boys and 286 girls), a self-administered questionnaire was conducted to ascertain the consumption status of school lunch in one day in December 2017 (rice, milk, chicken teriyaki, miso soup, and daikon stew), lifestyle habits, mealtime dietary education at home, and early childhood experience with school lunches/daycare meals. With a focus on mealtime dietary education at home, its associations with lifestyle habits and early childhood experience with school lunches/daycare meals were analyzed and investigated. Dietary education, such as various mealtime manners the students received during meals at home, was shown to be associated with exercise habits, breakfast habits, and early childhood experiences with school lunches/daycare meals. Both elementary and junior high school students who possessed proactive exercise habits were indicated to have received various dietary education during meals at home. Giving guidance and providing educational activities on the association between exercise and physical/mental health were suggested to be linked to the awareness of health at home and improvement in eating behavior. In order to cultivate a healthy minds and bodies of the students, and establish desirable lifestyle habits by increasing the interest in dietary education at home, a reform of the dietary environment during early childhood with consideration for the family’s socioeconomic status is important.

本研究の目的は、看護教員の難病患者の就労支援に関する意識と教育内容を明らかにし、これからの看護職に求められる治療と仕事の両立支援という視点を育むための教育上の課題を明らかにすることである。対象は看護専門学校17校の教員129名で自記式質問紙調査を実施し、回収した104枚(80.6%)のうち103枚(99.0%)を分析対象とした。看護職勤務期間の平均は14.3年、看護職として就労支援経験者は34人(33.0%)、難病看護の教授経験者は26人(25.2%)であった。看護職勤務期間、相談支援経験の程度、難病看護の教授経験の有無に関して、それぞれを2群分けし、Mann-WhitneyのU検定を用いて比較した。その結果、看護職勤務期間が少ない群より多い群の方が【治療の状況をふまえ就労・休職・復職の見通しについての情報提供】の項目の平均値が有意に高く、相談支援経験が少ない群より多い群の方が【仕事内容や職場条件をふまえた体調管理のための助言】と【病気や障害によって仕事ができない時の相談先に関する情報提供】の項目の各平均値が有意に高かった(p<.05)。今後は、看護教員に対する難病患者の就労支援・制度の知識の普及と看護基礎教育における難病患者の就労支援についての教育プログラムと教材の開発が課題である。(著者抄録)

<p> This study was to clarify how the program in which elderly people donated food at local events to high school students was affected by mental and physical health, images of the elderly, frequency of meeting the elderly and their interest in the local event foods of the high school students.</p><p> The participants were 80 high school students who attended a senior high school in Hyogo Prefecture. They were divided into the experimental group of 24 people who took part in the cooking program and the control group of 56 people who did not take part in the cooking program. The experimental group of high school students took part in the cooking program twice and they worked with the elderly in each program. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with the experimental group and the control group before and after the cooking programs.</p><p> The questionnaire included the following items: unidentified complaints, self-rated health, images of the elderly (Semantic Differential Scale: SD), considered age of the elderly, frequency of meeting the elderly people and their interest in local event foods.</p><p> Variations in each item of the questionnaire surveys before and after the cooking programs were compared between the experimental group and the control group using a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance.</p><p> The results showed that the scores of the images of the elderly such as "warm-hearted", "right", "easy to talk to", "fast", "big", "kind", "gentle" and "reliable" significantly increased in the experimental group.</p><p> After the cooking programs in which the elderly people donated food at local events to the high school students, the high school students' mental and physical health was not significantly improved, but the program improved their images of the elderly people. It is suggested that the intergenerational cooking program in which local event foods are donated to the younger generation improves the high school students' images of elderly people even if it takes place over a short period of time.</p>

<p>A questionnaire survey on food (rice, milk, grilled chicken, miso soup, and stewed radish) waste during lunchtime, lifestyle habits, food education at home, and early childhood experience with school lunches/daycare meals was conducted on 418 third- and sixth-grade students (218 boys and 200 girls) of an elementary school and 567 students (281 boys and 286 girls) of a junior high school in Osaka City in December, 2017. The association of food waste during lunchtime with lifestyle habits, food education at home, and early childhood experience with school lunches/daycare meals was then examined.</p><p>Differences in food waste across all lunch menus were observed between elementary and junior high school students. Exercise habits showed a significant positive correlation with food waste for all lunch menus. There was a significant correlation of bedtimes with not finishing milk, grilled chicken, and stewed radish. Food education at home was high in those who finished their milk, and early childhood experience with daily school lunches/daycare meals was high in those who finished their rice. These results suggest that factors affecting waste differ depending on the ingredients used for school lunches, in addition to the factors affecting overall food waste at lunch.</p>

<p> This study was made to clarify how the program, in which elderly women donated the local event foods to high school students, affected the psychosocial functions of elderly women.</p><p> The participants were 58 elderly women who lived in Hyogo Prefecture. They were divided into the experimental group of 19 people who took part in the cooking program and the control group of 39 people who did not take part in the cooking program. The experimental group of the elderly women took part in the cooking program twice and they worked with the high school students in each program. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with the experimental group and the control group before and after the cooking programs.</p><p> The questionnaire included the following items: Instrumental ADL; IADL, self-assessment for their health, short version of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Type A behavior, participation in social activities, the frequency of meeting their friends, grandchildren or great-grandchildren, awareness of coexistence with local communities, frequency of going out, short version of Generativity scale, and their interest in local event foods and their spread.</p><p> Variations in each item of the questionnaire surveys before and after the cooking programs were compared between the experimental group and the control group using a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance.</p><p> The results showed that the score of the experimental group of their desire to take care of elderly persons who live alone on the item of awareness of coexistence with, local communities and the score of their desire to serve as a role model for a young person on the short version of the generativity scale significantly increased.</p><p> After the elderly women participated in the cooking programs, their awareness of coexistence with the local communities and consciousness of generativity increased. It suggests that the cooking programs to donate the local event foods is expected to raise the consciousness of the elderly women on generativity and awareness of the coexistence with local communities even if the program is over a short period of time.</p>

OBJECTIVES: A growing body of literature indicates that social engagements, such as intergenerational programs, are effective strategies to improve a range of cognitive abilities. The present study examined whether the intergenerational program-REPRINTS-prevents age-related hippocampal atrophy. METHODS: After comprehensive baseline assessment, participants were allowed to decide whether to participate in the REPRINTS intervention or in the control group, which required only completion of assessments. REPRINTS participants engaged in group activities that involved reading picture books to children at kindergarten and elementary schools, once every 1 to 2 weeks. A follow-up assessment was conducted after 6 years. Two MRI scans were performed, one immediately after baseline assessment and the other after 6 years. Volumes of the hippocampus, thalamus, and caudate nucleus were derived from automated segmentation. The analysis included 17 REPRINTS and 42 control-group participants. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in any variable of participants' characteristics at baseline between the REPRINTS and control groups. Hippocampal volume significantly declined in the control group but was maintained in the REPRINTS group. No significant differences between groups in thalamus or caudate nucleus volume were observed. Although cognitive function was unaffected by the program, greater decreases in hippocampal volume were significantly correlated with greater decreases in cognitive performance scores. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the REPRINTS intergenerational program has protective effects on age-related hippocampal atrophy in older adults. These changes precede improvements in cognitive performance, suggesting the validity of the concept of brain plasticity in later life following social engagement.

<p> This study was to clarify awareness and interest in the local event foods between young people and older people in order to get basic ideas for creating programs in which the elderly can pass down the local event foods to the younger generations.</p><p> The participants were 399 elderly people living in Hyogo Prefecture and 270 first-year high school students in the same city.</p><p> Both of them were asked about their awareness of 51 local event foods, experiences of eating them, and their interest in the local event foods. Answers to the questions were compared between the elderly people and the high school students. The elderly people were divided into three groups in order to clarify the effect of their age. Group Ⅰ consisted of people aged 60 to 64. Group Ⅱ consisted of people aged 65 to 69. Group Ⅲ consisted of people aged over 70.</p><p> The high school students had significantly lower awareness and fewer experiences of many local event foods than the elderly people. The people aged 70 or over had significantly higher awareness of event foods such as Urabon, Tanabata and Otsukimi and more experiences of event foods such as higandango, somen, botamochi and konoshirosushi than the people who were in their sixties. While the elderly people named New Year's foods as local event foods which they wanted to pass down to the younger generations, the high school students did not name them. The results of a cluster analysis identified foods such as kinton, nanakusagayu and ohagi were the ones both the elderly people and the high school students were interested in as the local event foods which they wanted to pass down to younger generations.</p><p> This study found that the local event foods had not been passed down to the high school students while the elderly people knew a lot of about them. On the other hand, more than half of the high school students were interested in learning about local event foods. It suggests that we can create effective programs in which the elderly people can pass down the local event foods to younger generations based on the local events foods both the elderly people and the high school students were interested in. </p>

Background: Social engagement activities can help older adults maintain mental and physical functioning levels. This study examined the long-term effects of the intergenerational picture-book reading program "REPRINTS" (Research of Productivity by Intergenerational Sympathy) on older adults.Methods: After baseline assessment, participants were allowed to decide which condition they wanted to participate in: the REPRINTS intervention or control group involving only assessments. REPRINTS participants participated in group activities that involved playing a hand game and reading picture books to children at kindergartens, elementary schools, and public childcare centers, once every one-two weeks. A follow-up assessment, which focused on functional capacity (i.e., instrumental activities of daily living, intellectual activity, and social function), was conducted after seven years. The analysis included responses from 62 REPRINTS (mean age [SD] = 66.2 [5.7]) and 100 control-group participants (mean age [SD] = 68.0 [4.7]).Results: A logistic regression analysis examining intervention effects revealed that control-group participants were more likely to reduce intellectual activity and interactions with children compared to REPRINTS participants (p = .013 and .003, respectively). Furthermore, the REPRINTS group maintained greater functional reach compared to the control group (p < .001). However, the REPRINTS group was likely to stay indoors more often, compared to the control group (p = .045).Conclusion: The present study indicates that the REPRINTS intergenerational program has long-term, positive effects that help maintain and promote intellectual activity, physical functioning, and intergenerational exchange, although the effect of the increasing amount of physical activity is unclear. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the possibility and necessity for expansion and diffusion of a new employment support facility for older job seekers in metropolitan areas based on health and welfare measures. This longitudinal study assessed questionnaire responses from older job seekers at a new facility established in Ota ward in the Tokyo metropolitan area as a compliment to the conventional system comprised of Hello Work and the Silver Human Resources Center. METHODS: We offered questionnaires to job seekers at their first facility visit and asked them to return them by mail (baseline survey). Follow-up surveys of the same respondents were conducted after 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks, with questions about demographics, personal status, social activities, mental health, and job search status. The surveys were administered from January 2013 to March 2014. RESULTS: We obtained 128 responses (average respondent age: 63.8 years) from 180 baseline survey questionnaires. The respondents included 82 males and 46 females. The response rates were over 90% for all follow-up surveys. Among respondents, 71.4% had less than a senior high school level of education. The average annual household income was less than 3 million yen and less than 1 million yen for 68.0% and 16.0% of the participants, respectively. The life circumstances were "hard" or "very hard" for 56.3% of respondents. Among respondents, 78.9% indicated that they were seeking employment for economic reasons. Women and those over 65 years of age were more likely to search for jobs for their well-being than men and respondents less than 65 years of age. The majority of respondents indicated that they wanted to make use of their abilities or experience and many hoped to work as garbage collectors, cooks, or apartment caretakers. CONCLUSION: We found that the main objective of older job seekers living at this facility was economic acquisition. Men and those less than 65 years of age were at particular risk for economic distress, poor mental health, and were more likely to be searching for regular employment. A relatively higher proportion of women and respondents over 65 years of age were seeking jobs for their well-being; a need for social relationships that may be more pronounced among women in this study population.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of an intergenerational program on elderly persons' symptoms of depressive mood and in improving their sense of coherence, which is an element for successful coping with stressors. METHOD: We evaluated an intervention research project (Research of Productivity by Intergenerational Sympathy [REPRINTS]), in which volunteers >65 years old read picture books to children in a school setting. The intervention group (REPRINTS) was recruited through intensive weekly training seminars for three months. The no-contact control group members were also recreated to participate in health checks and surveys for data collection purposes. Eventually, 26 participants in the intervention group and 54 in the control group were included for data analysis. RESULTS: The age or gender was not significantly different between the intervention and control groups. A two-way repeated-measures ANOVA shows a time × group significant interaction effects. Analyses of the simple main effects showed that sense of meaningfulness significantly increased for members of the intervention group at all terms, with no changes in the control group over time. Multiple mediation analysis revealed that participation in the intergenerational program was associated with a sense of manageability which was also significantly related to depressive mood. CONCLUSION: Intergenerational programs could serve as key health promoters among elderly people by decreasing the risk of social isolation and loneliness due to the greater sense of meaningfulness. However, given our limited sample size, generalizability was restricted and studies with larger cohorts are required to further validate our findings.

BACKGROUND: Working at old ages is regarded as a good way to keep one's health according to the idea of productive aging. However, there is not enough evidence yet whether retirement is good or bad, or the kind of effects it has on the health of older adults aged 65 and over. We examined it by using a recent data of Wako city, a suburb area near Tokyo in Japan. METHODS: One thousand seven hundred sixty-eight participants answered to 3 waves of survey questionnaires: 2008, 2010, and 2012, successively. We considered 3 indicators of health; self-rated health, mental health (GDS15) and HLFC (Higher-Level Functional Capacity: TMIG-IC). In cross-sectional analysis, we compared these 3 indicators by three groups: full-time worker, part-time worker, and non-worker. In longitudinal analysis, we compared these three indicators by two groups: subjects who successively worked in 2008, 2010, 2012, and subjects who worked in 2008 but retired before 2010. We used one-way and two way repeated measures ANCOVA for these analyses, respectively. RESULTS: It was significantly clear that retirement worsened both mental health and HLFC in people aged 65 years and over; especially, mental health worsened rapidly and HLFC gradually. However, these indicators didn't worsen in subjects who changed from full-time jobs to part-time jobs. Quitting from part-time jobs deteriorated mental health gradually and HLFC moderately compared to full-time jobs. CONCLUSION: The results support the activity theory that older adults who quit from full-time jobs deteriorated both mental health and HLFC, though at different speeds. If they make a transit to part-time jobs, the deterioration would be moderate. It shows that working is an effective way of social participation for older people aged 65 years and over in Japan.

知的障がい児・者の健康問題に肥満がある。肥満には、長年にわたる生活習慣の影響が大きく、幼少から適切な生活習慣を身につけておくことは重要である。そこで知的障がい児通所施設を利用している知的障がいのある幼児の食生活状況と体格を調査した。食生活状況を一般児と比較したところ、「主食」、「主菜」、「副菜」が揃った食事が摂れていない割合が、一般児よりも有意に高いことが明らかになった(p&lt;0.01)。また、男児に肥満傾向がみられ、男児では女児に比較して、食事に問題がある、食事中にテレビを見ていると回答した保護者の割合が有意に高かった(p&lt;0.05)。また男女とも年齢による食生活状況の違いは確認されなかった。以上の結果から、知的障がいは児の食生活に影響を及ぼしており、児の摂食行動の発達が緩慢であることへの配慮、特に男児への配慮が必要であることが示唆された。(著者抄録)

目的:本研究は、在宅で生活する知的障害者の「食べ方」や「食事内容」、「食生活の規則性」といった食行動に着目し、知的障害者の食行動の特徴と肥満の関係を明らかにすることを目的とした。方法:研究参加者は、在宅で生活している知的障害のある男性30名(31±5歳)と女性20名(33±7歳)であり、対照群として一般成人男性57名(33±4歳)と女性16名(31±3歳)を選んだ。食行動の評価指標としては、坂田らの「食行動質問表」から、「食べ方」、「食事内容」、「食生活の規則性」に関する質問項目を選んだ。食行動質問表の各得点を年齢群間、知的障害者と一般成人との間で比較検討した。食行動と体格、障害レベルとの関連についても検討した。結果:知的障害者におけるBMI25以上の者の割合は、男性では20歳群、30・40歳群ともに40.0%、女性では、20歳群が28.6%、30・40歳群は53.8%であった。一般成人におけるBMI25以上の者の割合は、男性では20歳群が25.0%、30歳群が51.1%であった。女性では、BMI25以上の者は認められなかった。食行動をみると男女とも一般成人より知的障害者のほうが「食行動質問表」の得点は有意に低く、知的障害者の食行動は、一般成人よりも良好であることが明らかになった。考察とまとめ:一般成人よりも在宅で生活する知的障害者のほうが食行動は良好である一方で、肥満者の割合は高いことがわかった。本研究で評価できなかった食行動の実態把握とともに、食事量や身体活動量についても総合的に検討していくことの必要性が示唆された。(著者抄録)

BACKGROUND: Older adults could not safely step over an obstacle unless they correctly estimated their physical ability to be capable of a successful step over action. Thus, incorrect estimation (overestimation) of ability to step over an obstacle could result in severe accident such as falls in older adults. We investigated whether older adults tended to overestimate step-over ability compared with young adults and whether such overestimation in stepping over obstacles was associated with falls. METHODS: Three groups of adults, young-old (age, 60-74 years; n, 343), old-old (age, >74 years; n, 151), and young (age, 18-35 years; n, 71), performed our original step-over test (SOT). In the SOT, participants observed a horizontal bar at a 7-m distance and estimated the maximum height (EH) that they could step over. After estimation, they performed real SOT trials to measure the actual maximum height (AH). We also identified participants who had experienced falls in the 1 year period before the study. RESULTS: Thirty-nine young-old adults (11.4%) and 49 old-old adults (32.5%) failed to step over the bar at EH (overestimation), whereas all young adults succeeded (underestimation). There was a significant negative correlation between actual performance (AH) and self-estimation error (difference between EH and AH) in the older adults, indicating that older adults with lower AH (SOT ability) tended to overestimate actual ability (EH > AH) and vice versa. Furthermore, the percentage of participants who overestimated SOT ability in the fallers (28%) was almost double larger than that in the non-fallers (16%), with the fallers showing significantly lower SOT ability than the non-fallers. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults appear unaware of age-related physical decline and tended to overestimate step-over ability. Both age-related decline in step-over ability, and more importantly, overestimation or decreased underestimation of this ability may raise potential risk of falls.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the influence of the differences in exercise fulfillment on mental and physical functions and the effects of exercise intervention on community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Participants in this study included 260 community-dwelling older adults (mean age +/- SD, 70.4 +/- 6.0 years) who participated in the exercise intervention study (intervention and control groups). Exercise fulfillment levels (low or high), physical activity levels (low or high), mental health (WHO-5 scores), health-related QOL (SF-8 score), and physical abilities of these adults were measured during a baseline health checkup. Based on the status of the 3 exercise fulfillment groups, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), which was adjusted for age, sex, and physical activity levels, was performed to compare the results of the outcome measures among the 3 groups. The intervention group (n = 88, aged 70.3 +/- 6.2 years) was divided into 2 subgroups: the deterioration subgroup (participants with low-exercise fulfillment after the intervention) and the improvement subgroup (participants with high-exercise fulfillment after the intervention). Subsequently, the intervention effects were assessed by repeated measurements of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) between the 2 subgroups. RESULTS: MANOVA analysis revealed that body mass index, grip strength, maximum walking speed, the WHO-5 score, and the SF-8 subscale (8 items) score differed significantly amongst the groups. The high-exercise fulfillment group demonstrated better results for these variables than the low-exercise fulfillment group. Similar results were obtained for each group with respect to the physical activity levels. The repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that time had an important effect on lower physical functions and the SF-8 subscale (1 item) score; it also revealed the important effects of body mass index, the WHO-5 score, the SF-8 subscale (6 items) score, and psychological independence on the group. CONCLUSION: Older adults with higher exercise fulfillment demonstrated better mental and psychological health, regardless of their physical activity levels. Older adults with low-exercise fulfillment could potentially improve their physical abilities; however, their mental and psychological health significantly differed from that of older adults with medium- or high-exercise fulfillment after exercise intervention. These findings provide preliminary evidence, which indicates that exercise can provide sufficient fulfillment and contribute to the promotion and improvement of health in older adults. Moreover, performing adequate tests on exercise fulfillment may aid in assessing the effects of intervention programs in regional healthcare systems.

In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey regarding dietary life (90 males, 139 females, 18.6±0.9 years old) to verify motivations and processes that affect dietary behavior in university students. The results showed that females scored significantly higher than males for "subjective norm-teaching staff". Regarding "dietary life skills-food ingestion", students who lived with their family scored significantly higher than those who lived in dormitories or alone. Path analysis regarding factors that affect dietary behavior showed that there was a significant direct effect of "subjective norm-teaching staff" on "consciousness of food balance" and of "subjective norm-family" on "dietary life skill-use of labels" in males. In females, there was a significant direct effect of "subjective norm-teaching staff" on "dietary life skill-food ingestion" and of "subjective norm-family" on "consciousness of food balance" and "dietary life skill-use of labels". The above results suggest that there was a significant indirect effect on "behavior regarding food balance", "behavior to limit eating out, and behavior to increase home-cooked meals" in both males and females. Therefore, dietary education at universities and continuous approach by students' family members appear to be important in transformation of the dietary behavior of university students.

In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey regarding dietary life after conducting dietary education (90 males, 139 females, 18.6±0.9 years old) to present the direction of dietary education in order to help university students enrich their values of dietary life, leading to its improvement. Comparison of the scores from the 1^st and 2^nd surveys concerning consciousness and behavior regarding dietary life and taste sense showed significantly higher scores for the following items in the 2^nd survey : behavior regarding cooking a meal, consciousness and behavior regarding limiting eating out and increasing home-cooked meals, manners and food environment, and appreciating a mild taste. From the results concerning the satisfaction level of dietary life, it was inferred that the students felt no dissatisfaction concerning their dietary lives. The above results suggested that university students can enrich their values of dietary life, leading to its improvement, by participating in classes about diet and health. Additionally, it is important to let those not interested in dietary life determine its current situation and increase their motivation for its improvement. Furthermore, education focused on cooking and hands-on experience for the purpose of improving cooking techniques to cultivate independence in dietary life and to find the value in limiting eating out, increasing home-cooked meals, and appreciating a healthy mild taste appears to be necessary.

<p>  The aim of this study was to clarify how the introduction of a 24-hour unrestrained monitoring system in a nursing home affected night-time activity and care among care staffs. This system was composed of an air pressure sensor system and an ultrasonic oscillosensor system. The intervened participants were ten care staffs (age 37.4±14.2) and nineteen elderly persons (age 85.6±8.9) in a nursing home, Osaka, Japan. We selected the control group consisting of ten care staff (age 39.0±15.8) and twenty elderly persons (age 86.5±9.0) in the same facility. We carried out a baseline survey at the end of September 2008, and the follow-up study was done at the end of October 2008. From the comparisons of the average scores of measurements between pre- and post-intervention using two-way repeated measures analysis of variance, "the counts of diaper changing" and "the total score of stressor scale" significantly decreased in the intervention group (p ＜ 0.05, respectively). These results suggest that the introduction of the 24-hour monitoring system in the nursing home could decrease the care burden of the care staffs.</p>

AIM: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a comprehensive intervention program named SPRING, which utilizes a hot spring facility, in community-dwelling older adults in a randomized controlled trial. METHODS: A total of 60 community-dwelling elderly people (mean age, 72.7±6.0 years) participated in this program. After baseline investigation, participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=31) or a control group (n=29). The intervention group participated in a comprehensive intervention program (including exercise classes, nutrition classes and bathing) twice a week for 3 months. After 3 months and 6 months, we evaluated the effects of the intervention. RESULTS: The attendance rate of the intervention group was 76%, and there were no accidents or injuries associated with this program. After 3 months, grip strength and one-leg standing with eyes-open scores significantly improved among the intervention group, compared with the control group (p=0.028; p=0.003, respectively). On follow-up, grip strength, one-leg standing with eyes-open scores and the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) scores were statistically significantly maintained or had improved in the intervention group (p=0.001; p=0.024; p=0.027, respectively). CONCLUSION: The comprehensive intervention program SPRING may improve physical function among community-dwelling older adults. In addition, SPRING may have long-term beneficial effects for older adults.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We have launched a new intervention study, called "REPRINTS" (Research of productivity by intergenerational sympathy), in which senior volunteers aged 60 years and over are engaged in reading picture books to school children, regularly visiting public elementary schools since 2004. METHODS: So far, no repeated cross-sectional studies to demonstrate indirect effects on parents have been reported, although reciprocal effects on senior volunteers and children have been demonstrated. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes of evaluation of "REPRINTS" program by parents of school children during the 2 years. SUBJECTS & SETTING: Four to six volunteers as a group visited an elementary school in a suburb of Kawasaki city twice a week to read picture books. A baseline survey was conducted one month after launching the volunteer activity. First to fourth follow-up surveys were conducted every 6 months after baseline surver. Of 368 parents, 230 whose children were in 1st-4th grade were analyzed. MEASUREMENTS: School grade of children, gender, emotional image scale of older adults by the SD (Semantic Differential) method (13 items), parents' evaluation of activity of "REPRINTS" volunteers such as promotion of reading for children, or children's respect for older adults, appreciation, familiarity with older adults, indirect effects on promotion of safety in the community, and reducing parent's physical and psychological burdens of volunteer service for school. Repeated cross-sectional analyses by ANCOVA, adjusted for confounding factors, were conducted in order to compare changes in responses between parents of 1st-2nd grade children (lower-grade children) with those of 3rd-4th grade-children (middle-grade children). We examined experiences of being read with picture books, greeting and having conversations with volunteers among all of 330 students of 1st-4th grade. These three items were examined using Chi-squared test to compare longitudinal change between parents of lower-grade and middle-grade children. RESULTS: Evaluation of children's familiarity with older adults significantly declined among parents of middle-grade children, but was maintained among those of lower-grade children during the 2 years. Physical burdens of volunteer service for school were lower among parents' of lower-grade children at baseline, and were significantly reduced among parents' of all grades. Promotion of reading for children, indirect effects on promotion of safety in the community, and frequency of hearing episodes of "REPRINTS" volunteers from children were higher among parents' of lower-grade children at baseline. Psychological burdens were reduced and level of knowledge of "REPRINTS" volunteers was increased among parents' of all grades. In terms of parents' emotional image scale of older adults in general, no significant difference was found among the grades of school children and number of surveys for all the subscales of 'socialization', 'activity', and 'cheerfulness'. CONCLUSION: The level of knowledge and a number of items of evaluation of "REPRINTS" volunteers were significantly increased among parents of both lower-grade and middle-grade children during the 2-year intervention. This study indicates that the "REPRINTS" program can contribute to establishing trust and reliance between generations of older adults and parents of school children with the children as mediators.

A disorder of dietary condition in recent years is concerned with the dietary habit of engorgement.We thus believe that dietary education is necessary for university students. This study examines the consciousness and behavior in the dietary condition, sense of taste, and daily life of university students.The influence of a student's family on this dietary behavior and consciousness is also assessed. An analysis was conducted of the results of a questionnaire survey taken from 229 university students.Structural equation modeling was applied to study the consciousness which influences the dietary behavior, living activities and influence of the family. This analysis shows the influence of the family on the consciousness of dietary condition, sense of taste, and daily activities related to a healthy life style.The results suggest the importance of university students having experience of cooking, promoting consciousness of their dietary behavior, and that the family recognizes its influence.