2018 Volume 33 Issue 1 Pages 55-61
Objective: At our facility, we carry out follow-up examinations for persons receiving active support in Specific Health Guidance with the purpose of improving dietary and exercise habits. We examined the usefulness of follow-up examinations for persons receiving Specific Health Guidance by comparing check-up data between those who received follow-up examinations and those who did not.
Methods: Among persons who underwent a comprehensive or general health check-up at our facility and received active support, 92 whose health check-up data was available for the following year were included in the study. They were divided into a group who received follow-up examinations and a group who did not. A comparison was made between the groups at the time of the follow-up examinations. Changes in health check-up data and decreases in metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the following year were also compared between the 2 groups.
Results: In the group with follow-up examinations, at the time of the examinations, there had been decreases in abdominal circumference, bodyweight and BMI as well as improvement in triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and fasting blood sugar. Also, in the health check-up in the following year, the weight reducing effect was maintained and so was the improvement in triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. There was also a 33% reduction in the number of people in the MetS category. On the other hand, no significant changes were observed in the group without follow-up examinations.
Conclusion: In persons receiving active follow-up and follow-up examinations, abdominal circumference and bodyweight decreased and clinical test results improved. Our findings suggested that follow-up examinations in Specific Health Guidance were an effective means of increasing the motivation of subjects as well as the effectiveness of guidance.
