Physical fitness and sports medicine research in industrial/occupational health following public announcement of the new Total Health Promotion Plan guidelines

Abstract

In present-day society with its proliferation of various work styles, many companies and workplaces are faced with the important and complicated tasks of maintaining and promoting workers’ health. Amid this climate, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan on March 31, 2020, announced its revised “Guidelines for Total Health Promotion Plan for Workers in Workplaces.” This is a major revision of the original Total Health Promotion Plan (THP) that had been implemented up to that point. In the field of industrial/occupational health, physical activity and exercise are key topics addressed within the THP. This necessitates further study of physical fitness and sports medicine. In this study, based on societal trends and previous studies, we have reviewed the role of physical fitness and sports medicine research within the field of industrial/occupational health. We conclude it is important to clarify issues and objectives in each workplace and ways of concretizing plans to resolve and achieve them. Specific methods for doing so are diverse and indefinite, and creativity is required. Numerous options and types of tools should be created for applying outcomes on physical activity and exercise in accordance with the THP. Not only the viewpoint of avoiding risk, but also the viewpoints of accruing assets and taking a behavioral science approach toward continuing physical activity and exercise need to be considered. Research on these matters has not progressed sufficiently and we must advance a high volume of studies through various academic societies.