The exercise and the dietary habits from the viewpoint of a registered dietitian

—The present state and the education for the future—

Abstract

  In importance of physical activity and daily exercise has been emphasized for the prevention of lifestyle-related disease. In this review, I would like to discuss the significance of the exercise in young and elderly women.
1) Long-distance runners (n=8) and sedentary lifestyle female students (n=19) were enrolled for the study to improve their lifestyle. After assessing the health conditions, they were divided into three groups ; long-distance runner or athlete group (n=8), forced exercise group (n=9), and voluntary exercise group (n=10). In the sedentary group students, waist circumference, resting heart rate and LDL-cholesterol all improved after the trial, suggesting that daily exercise is effective for the promotion of health in young female students.
2) In healthy elderly women, the physical strength, number of walking steps, and bone density were followed for 10 years. During the period, body weight slightly decreased ; body height, group power, respiratory function, number of walking steps, basal metabolic rate, amount of exercise, and total energy expenditure were all significantly decreased. Bone density significantly decreased after 5 years. In elderly women, voluntary, active and continuous exercise is good for the conditioning of the daily life, delaying the functional declining although the physical strength was mostly affected by the aging.