This study aimed to examine the relationship between the presence or absence and the number of floating-toes and physical fitness in 456 preschool children （241 boys and 215 girls） aged from 4 to 6 years. The presence of floating-toes was judged based on the pictures of the contact surface area of the soles of the subjects. The relationships between floating-toes and the total score of 7 physical fitness tests （grip strength, standing long jump, softball throw, 25-m run, side-step, upright hand standing time, and sitting trunk flexion）, and the total score of 3 physical fitness tests which are highly involved with the use of toes （standing long jump, 25-m run, and side-step） and each individual test were examined. Coefficients of contingency between the presence or absence of floating-toes and physical fitness tests were not significant. However, in boys, coefficients between the number of floating-toes and the total score of the 3 tests and the standing long jump were significant, and the lower-scoring group in these test tended to have more floating-toes. In conclusion, the presence or absence of floating-toes may not relate to physical fitness in preschool children. However, in boys, the number of floating-toes influences the performance of a standing long jump in which the use of toes is important, that is, instantaneous force.

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The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence rate of drinking among high school students in Japan and to investigate the causal relation of drinking of alcoholic beverages to smoking and illicit drug use. We surveyed also the occasions and situations of drinking. This analysis was based on nationally representative sample (n=44,629) among Japanese high school students surveyed by self-reported questionnaire in 2004. 　The main findings were as follows: 1) The life time prevalence rates of drinking were 76.6% among male students and 74.2% among female students, respectively. The annual prevalence rates of drinking were 64.2% among males and 61.2% among females. There observed no significant gender difference among the rates. The prevalence rate decreased gradually according to frequency of drinking. The prevalence rate of heavy drinking (weekly and daily drinking) was significantly higher in males (5.0%) than in females (2.9%). 2) To considerable degree, the prevalence rate of drinking paralleled the prevalence rate of smoking. The students with highly frequent drinking habit had also a habit of heavy smoking. The life time prevalence rate of illicit drug use was increased according to the frequency of drinking. “Drink alcoholic beverages one or more times in a month” was considered as the key step to try illicit drug use. 3) About half of the life time drinkers experienced drinking at “ceremony occasion”, or at “home with family”. Forty percent of those did at “ritual parties among friends” or at friend’s room “with peers”, and twenty percent did at “tavern” or at “being alone”. The levels of risk to heavy drinking (weekly and daily) were higher in the order of at “being alone”, at “tavern” and at ”home with family”. The odds ratios to the students with no drinking experience were over than 2.00. The risk to heavy drinking was relatively low in the group with experience of drinking at “ceremony occasion” or at “ritual parties among friends”. 4) The risk to heavy smoking was higher in the group of students who had the experience of drinking at “being alone”, at “tavern”, or at friend’s room “with peers”. The prevalence rate of heavy smoking was from three to fifth fold high in those students compared with the students who had not experienced drinking at such occasions. The life time prevalence rate of illicit drug use was the highest in the group of students who had the experience of drinking at “being alone”, followed by at “tavern”. 　The results of this study suggest that the preventive interventions of drinking among high school students need to focus on repeating experiences of drinking and to curb opportunities for them to obtain alcohol.

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　This study aimed to examine the effects of stimulation by PL irradiation, stretch, light exercise and their mixture on the ankle range of motion (ROM) and toe tapping tests (agility). Twenty healthy young people [mean ± SD; 10 males: age 23.4 ± 2.7 yr, height 171.6 ± 3.6 cm, body weight 69.5 ± 5.4 kg; 10 females: age 21.3 ± 2.0 yr, height 162.9 ± 4.6 cm, body mass 55.6 ± 6.8 kg] participated in six experimental conditions [rest (Rest), PL-irradiation (E1), light exercise (E2), stretching (E3), E3 plus E1, and E3 plus E2]. Each subject took the ankle ROM and toe tapping tests before and after the above experiments. Ankle ROM showed significant changes (F0=34.3, p<0.05), and the post tests in all conditions, except for the Rest condition, had larger values than the pre tests. The toe tapping performance improved significantly (F0=5.06, p<0.05) only in the E2 condition. The present results suggest that even passive warming-up, such as with E1 and E3, improves the ankle ROM; however, the toe tapping performance can only be improved by positive muscle stimulus through light exercise.

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　The purpose of this study is to find factors for developing the effective education program in adolescent girls by investigating the relationship of the eating attitude, body image and the dietary intake. The Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26) and the silhouette type of Stunkard were used to examine the eating attitude and body image. And, the self-administered diets history questionnaire (DHQ) was used to know dietary intake. According to the results of the EAT-26, we divided the subjects into the three groups of normal group (EAT-26 score≦9), intermediate group (10≦EAT-26 score≦19) and abnormal group (EAT-26 score≧20). Then, anthrodometric, body image and dietary intake were compared among the three groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in the body size among the three groups. However, the abnormal group significantly wished to become thinner figure than other groups. As to the dietary intake, the abnormal group took significantly more amount of confectionery and saturated fatty acid than other groups. It was concluded that the necessary factors for the effective education in the adolescent girls are the knowledge of the nutrition, the adequate body image and the evaluation of their eating attitude that leads to concrete guidance for the correction of eating behavior.

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　The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between physical fitness with aging and fitness habits in a cross-sectional study and the factor of physical fitness with aging in longitudinal study. Subjects participated in measurement of physical fitness from 60- to 94-year-old for twelve years (n=6678, 1402 male, 5276 female, from 1995 to 2006). 　As a result, physical fitness declined all of measurement of physical fitness both sexes except for male standing trunk flexion in a cross-sectional study. The influence which fitness habits give physical fitness was significantly vertical jump and side step in 60's male, and grip strength, vertical jump and side step in late 70's male. They were grip strength, jumping reaction time, vertical jump, side step and standing trunk flexi in early 60's female, jumping reaction time, vertical jump, side step, standing trunk flexion and vital capacity in late 60's female, grip strength, vertical jump, side step and standing trunk flexion in early 70's female, grip strength, vertical jump and side step in late 70's female. 　According to physical habits brackets which movement time influenced scores of physical fitness, physical fitness from 1 to 4 times a week improved the scores, and the more they played physical fitness, the more they improved side step in female. 　It was significantly that male physical fitness was 60’s and 70’s grip strength, 60's and 70's vertical jump and from 65- to 70-year-old vital capacity. Female physical fitness was 60’s and 70’s grip strength and vertical jump, late 60's and 70's side step, 70's side step and from 60- to 74-year-old vital capacity. 　In conclusion, physical fitness declined with aging both sexes. However, it was suggested that muscle strength, instantaneous force and respiratory endurance prevent the decline of physical fitness to play physical fitness and play movement time. According to determine longitudinal study, both sexes declined muscle strength, instantaneous force and lung function with aging. Especially, it was suggested that it was necessary to play physical fitness aggressively because physical fitness of more than 70’s rapidly declined.

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　It has been established a system to evaluate delayed menarche by deriving the delay in menarche from the interval between age at MPV of height and age at menarche, while at the same time establishing judgments from regression evaluations of age at menarche against age at MPV of height. In this study, the system developed to evaluate delays in menarche was applied to the age at menarche of girls in the South Korea, and we then investigated regional differences in delays and early in menarche between these two regions. The subjects were 209 girls from the Tokai region in Japan and 345 girls from the Pusan region in South Korea who underwent almost no sports training around the time of menarche. Longitudinal growth data on the girls’ height were obtained from health records from the first year of elementary school until the final (third) year of high school. The age at menarche was obtained from a questionnaire survey of the 209 girls in the Tokai region and 345 girls in the Pusan region. The delayed menarche evaluation system was applied to the age at menarche of girls from Japan and South Korea, and the average delay in menarche in South Korea region was estimated from the interval between age at MPV of height and age at menarche. Regression evaluation of age at menarche against age at MPV of height was used to clarify the somewhat early in menarche for individual girls in South Korea. It was shown that the proportion of girls with somewhat early menarche was significantly higher in South Korea than in Japan. This was inferred to be from the effect of stress from living conditions (especially lack of sleeping time) that results from the educational environment in the South Korea.

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　Purpose. The purpose of this study was to clarify problems pertaining to student's recognition of risks of falls of elderly. 　Method. We collected fall assessment score sheets on 89 elderly persons each in the care of one student at a college for care workers. We analyzed these with PASW STATISTICS 18.0J survey analysis software for Windows. 　Findings. According to our analysis of the fall assessment score sheet, there was one elderly person (1.3%) in the Risk Ⅰ zone, 50 elderly person (64.9%) in the risk Ⅱ zone and 26 elderly persons (33.8%) in the Risk Ⅲ zone. For general cognition general excretion scores, we found odds ratios of 2.572(p=0.020) and 1.593 (p=0.045), respectively, and saw a significant correlation. 　Conclusion. Our results showed a significant correlation between perception of risk of falls in elderly and items including excretion actions and cognition. This suggests that it is possible, when caring for the elderly, to use assessment of an elderly resident’s current condition to predict behavior. We believe use of fall assessment score sheets is a valuable method to help prevent falls of the elderly.

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