[Objective] The objective of this study was to clarify the relationship of establishing four basic lifestyle habits (getting up and going to bed early; eating breakfast; limited time spent watching television and,exercise habits)with the number of daily steps and physical fitness test scores. [Methods] Surveys of lifestyle and the number of daily steps were conducted for one week in June 2010 on 435 elementary school children in grade 3 and above in A City. The relationship of lifestyle habits with the number of daily steps and physical fitness test scores was investigated. [Results] On weekdays, children got up at around 6:30 am, with no difference observed among school grades; however, time of going to bed became later with increasing school grade. Children with established breakfast everyday kept the habits of lifestyle rhythm and tended to watch television for only short lengths of time;however, no difference was seen for the number of daily steps. Conversely, children who exercised more frequently took significantly more the daily steps and had higher physical fitness scores. Established eating breakfast were related to the habits of lifestyle rhythm and length of time spent watching television, while established exercise habits were related to the number of daily steps and physical fitness. The present findings suggest the need for establishing these four basic lifestyle habits, including both exercise habits and lifestyle habits, in order to ensure children.s healthy development and improve physical fitness.

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The purpose of an ecological study was to investigate relationship between family function and spontaneous physical activity habit in parent and child from a community random sample. Thirty percent of 9,534 parents of 3- to 14-year child were randomly sampled by child’s age and dwelling area of A-city,Tokyo on January 2010. Analyzed population consisted of 805 parents who provided valid responses in a mailed self-administered questionnaire. Correlation between parent-reported total score of family APGAR scale and frequency of familial physical activity and/or exercise was statistically significant (r=0.13, P <0.01). Coefficient of correlation differed in characteristics of family member (child and parents) and dwelling area of family. The results suggested that family function and spontaneous physical activity habit would relate each other in the investigated community. Therefore, spontaneous physical activity habit in parent and child would be expected to promote family health in child bearing generation.

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This study aimed to examine the relationships between objectively measured daily physical activity (PA) and perceived activity in preschool children as evaluated by their parents and kindergartens or nursery schools teachers. PA was assessed using a triaxial accelerometer (ActivTracer, GMS) for 6 consecutive days,including weekdays and weekends, in 147 Japanese preschool children (5.6±0.6 years old). The triaxial accelerometer allowed for an accurate discrimination between locomotive and non-locomotive activity during medium intensity PA. Perceived activity for each child was evaluated in three categories through a questionnaire completed by their parents and teachers. Time in PAR (physical activity ratio) <2, 2≦PAR<3, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA, PARB3) and PARB4 were 1187 (±51) min ⁄ day, 158 (±31) min⁄day,95 (±29) min⁄day, and 20 (±12) min⁄day, respectively. Perceived by the teachers showed significant relationships between time in PAR<2, MVPA, PARB4 and locomotive activity during moderate PA compared to other groups when adjusted for age, sex, body height and weight. On the other hand, only the inactivity children group as perceived by parents showed significantly lower time spent in MVPA and PARB 4. The findings indicate that teachers could classify childrenʼsPAineach intensity and locomotive activity during moderate PA, while parents could only evaluate moderate or higher intensity PA. Perceived children activity as evaluated by parents and teachers could be improved by focusing on non-locomotive activity during moderate PA.

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There has been much concern lately regarding the increasingly late hour at which children to go sleep, as well as their shortened sleeping hours. For this reason, solutions are sought for addressing the problems of childrenʼs sleep as well as the disturbances in biorhythms which are believed to be at their root. The purpose of this study was to examine whether biochemical influences arose within the biorhythms of children by having them participate in a long-term camp (30 nights and 31 days). Research 1 was carried out in order to examine any changes in the melatonin metabolism of the children by the starting and ending of the longterm camp. The samples analysed in Research 1 were from the data based on eleven healthy male and female children from the ages of 9 to 12 years old. Their saliva was always collected at 21:30 across twelve selected days (10, 8, 6, 4, and 2 days before the start of the camp, the first, second, third, fifteenth and twenty-ninth day during the camp, and finally the fourteenth and twenty-eighth day after the camp). Meanwhile, Research 2 was analysed hormonal metabolism through the long-term camp, using data on eight healthy male children from 9 to 10 years old. Their saliva and urine were collected at two different time intervals:one at 21:30 (night) and the other at 6:00 o'clock(morning), across five periods (between 9 and 10 days before the camp, between the second and third day of the camp, between the sixteenth and seventeenth day of the camp, between the twenty-ninth and thirtieth day of the camp, and lastly, between the thirtieth and thirty-first day following the end of the camp). According to the results of this study, it was shown that the saliva melatonin concentration had increased rapidly during the initial three days once the camp had commenced, and further showed a gradual increase as the camp went on. However, once the camp had finished, the saliva melatonin concentration had come down to initial levels within 14 days. Furthermore, changes in saliva melatonin and urinary serotonin concentrations were observed in the longterm camp, while the saliva cortisol concentrations had not changed. Based on these facts, we reached the conclusion that the appearance and disappearance of the effects of this programme aimed at improving biorhythms were somewhat immediate. In addition, it can be considered that using melatonin and ⁄ or serotonin is an appropriate index for program verification.

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[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the multiple relationships between body proportion,physical fitness, and daily life time of young children, using three years of longitudinal data. [Method] The study subjects comprised 148 young children from whom longitudinal data were collected for three years.We collected data on body proportions, physical fitness, and daily life time. [Results and Discussion] The results confirmed that the change in physical fitness score was the highest in the obesity trend group, followed by the maintaining body proportion group, and that this change was the least in the slim trend group. Regarding the daily life time, significant difference was observed in the change of the obesity index by the time spent on TV and video systems. Further, the time spent by the children playing on a PC and video games was marginally significant. It was also confirmed that the time spent on TV and video systems was shorter among children in the slim trend group. Our findings suggest that the improvement of daily life time, desirable change in body proportions, and improvement in physical fitness might be affected by multiple activities related to the mutual factor.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the present state of physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescents living in regions affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and to examinethe relationship between physical activity and HRQoL in adolescents living in different regions affected by the disaster. The participants were 573 aged 11-13 in East Matsushima city (where housing damage affected10% of participants:low damage group) and in Onagawa town (where housing damage affected 60% of participants:high damage group) . The survey was performed in September, 2011. Survey items included sports club activity, time spent on physical activity, and HRQoL (the 23-item Pediatric QoL Inventory Version 4.0 Generic Core Scales) . The results of a chi-square test showed that there were no significant differences in the rate of time spent category (<60 min / wk, 60-420 min / wk, and 420 min / wk C ) between the low damage group and the high damage group. However, the rate of <60 min/wkin both groups showed higher percentages than in the general adolescents. There was a high correlation between the rate of time spent category and sports club activity (belong or not) in the high damage group. The results of an unpaired t-test for each damage group showed a significant difference in an emotional functioning score between those who belong to sports club and those who do not belong to a sports club only in the high damage groups. These findings might suggest the following:1) the physical activity level of adolescents living in disaster areas tends to be low regardless of the damage situation, 2) the relation between sport club activity in school and physical activity level in the high damage group is stronger than the low damage group, 3) sports club activity affects an emotional context positively only in the high damage group.

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This study examines the accuracy of motor ability estimation for young children by nursery school teachers on the basis of the relationship between the estimated and actual measured values. Six class teachers and 116 nursery school children (aged four-six) participated in this study. The study began with a survey to assess class teachersʼ evaluations of young childrenʼs motor abilities (running, jumping, and throwing) . These assessments are based on estimated values. Young children were then assessed through a physical fitness test (25 m run, standing long jump, and tennis ball throw) . Based on the test results, each of the three motor abilities was evaluated on a five-point rating scale. Finally, the concordance rate between the estimated and actual measured values was calculated in relation to age and sex for each of the three motor abilities.The results were as follows. The accuracy of the estimates for each of the three motor abilities (running,jumping, and throwing) was different. Among the three motor abilities, running ability was most accurately estimated. There was a marginal difference between the accuracy of estimates in relation to age and sex. Moreover, there was an absence of a pattern among the three motor abilities. However, young children in average ability were most accurately estimated. The tendency was common to three motor abilities in relation to age and sex. From the above results, a measure to improve the accuracy of these estimates is suggested.

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