The Japanese Society of the Study for Obesity defines "obesity" by the following two definitions; 1. BMI (Body Mass Index) of 25 and more. 2. Man with the waist circumference more than 85 cm and Visceral Obesity more than 100 cm², woman with the waist circumference more than 85 cm and Visceral Obesity more than 100 cm². Visceral fat can be manually calculated from the CT film but it could not be applied to the mass screening program such as health check ups where it is required to treat large volume of data. This is a principal obstacle for the introduction of CT based check up system for visceral fat. In order to solve this problem, we have developed a new software program that makes it possible to automatically calculate the waist circumference, visceral fat and subcutaneous fat form the CT imaging. In this article, the authors explain the general features of this new system.

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Japan is one of the most aged societies among the developed countries. The further rapid ageing is forecasted within the coming years. It is essential for the Japanese society to utilize the experience and skills of the elderly in order to maintain the vitality of society. The previous research has clarified that there are three key factors for the aged to be able to keep their workability; up-to-date vocational skill and knowledge, work place arrangement near one's residence, and good health. The Health Care Reform Plan 2006 has introduced a disease management program targeting the Metabolic Syndrome. This program might make it possible for the Japanese aged to keep their health and as a result, to continue to work as long as possible. If this is the case, the newly introduced disease management program will increase the income and reduce the payment of social security fund. However, there is no single measure that would dramatically increase retention or hiring rates for older workers. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary to attain this goal, i.e., the arrangement old-pension scheme and the labor contract such as mandatory retirement age system. In order to promote the multidisciplinary policy making, the Japanese Society for Health Support System is strongly expected to contribute to offer a scientific background of social policy for the aged in Japan.

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According to the 2006 health reform plan, a new health promotion program, so called "Health checkups and healthcare advice with a particular focus on the metabolic syndrome" program was introduced in Japan. In order to adapt to the new scheme, we have conducted a pilot study in an occupational setting. 37 persons (15 men, 22 women) were recruited from A Health Insurance Fund of Kanto Region, Japan. These persons were evaluated as "health education necessary" according to the inclusion criteria set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan. This study employed a single group, repeated-measures experimental design. The intervention lasted 5 months. As the intervention method, a mix-approach of face-to-face counseling and e-mail monitoring was adopted. Statistically significant ameliorations were observed for body weight, BMI, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, and HDL-cholesterol. No improvements were observed for diastolic blood pressure, HbA1c, triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. Statistically significant negative correlations were observed between changes in waist circumference and changes in average daily steps. Given the need for cost-effective population based approaches to health promotion, it is pivotal to develop the IT-based intervention program.

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In order to evaluate the importance of housing program for the healthy aged society, we have conducted a situation analysis of housing condition of the aged living in a city of Fukuoka Prefecture. The data was collected from 2,611 elderly people living in a city of Fukuoka prefecture. At first, the necessity of reconstruction was cross-evaluated by sex, age, type of household, health status, ADL independency level, type of residence. Then factors associated with willingness to use the institutional care were analyzed by the logistic regression analysis. The present results clarified that the aged living in the houses with necessity of reconstruction have showed more willingness to use institutional services that are covered by the public medical insurance and LTCI. Historically, the housing policy has long been separated from the public health policy in Japan. It is strongly recommended to integrate the housing policy into the public health policy in order to realize a healthy aged society.

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