Since the 2008 introduction of the specific health examination and health guidance system for metabolic syndrome, the issues facing specific health examination have been: converting data to XML; the low participation rate of dependents; the system not being widely known; and the validity of abdominal circumference. Similarly, the issues facing specific health guidance have been: the lack of manpower and skill; the low continuation rate of active support; difficult cases such as the seriously ill and mentally impaired; the lack of a population approach. In summary, the health guidance has a certain effect, but is not often implemented.
Health guidance staff have also reported encountering various metabolic syndromes. Amongst the subjects of health guidance, the existence of cases with various backgrounds such as a combination of serious illness, mental impairment or cancer, and visual, auditory and intellectual disabilities have come to light. In addition, to maintain the quality of health guidance, a lot of effort and costs are required for staff development and devising teaching mediums. However, the effect of this system is becoming apparent due to a focus on preventive medicine, the improvement of health guidance skills, and the accumulation of data on lifestyle-related diseases.
This system started with measures for lifestyle-related diseases as the first step in the road. If specific health guidance for those over 40 is the first step, then from the perspective of optimized medical costs of future health insurance societies, the second step (measures for those requiring treatment who have not yet had examinations) and the third step (healthcare guidance and generic introductions for during treatment) are important. From the perspective of CSR, businesses aim to achieve a healthy company and an improvement in the health literacy of employees, and it is becoming important to carry out comprehensive workplace health promotions for those under 40 years of age who have not reached the first step. For Japan, a nation approaching a super-aging society at the fastest rate in the world, it is necessary to find out how this kind of collaborative effort connects the second step of post-retirement (over 60 years of age) to the third step of old age (over 75 years of age), and how healthy aging is achieved. When considering the first step in the road while looking at measures for lifestyle related diseases, it appears that the way health insurance associations, companies and health guidance organizations should cooperate and divide their responsibilities has come in sight.
