The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between physical fitness with aging in the elderly participants in Gifu prefecture. The subjects were 9206 persons aged over 65 years who participated in the senior citizens' club. We measured physical fitness examinations (grip strength, sitting-up, sit-and-reach, single-leg standing time with eyes open, 10m obstacle walking test, and six minutes walking) and investigated the relationships between them and age. The age showed significant correlation with all physical fitness parameters (P < 0.05). Our results indicated that grip strength and single-leg standing time with eyes open, and six minutes walking were markedly decreased according to the aging. In conclusion, our study suggested that physical fitness declined with aging even if they were positively participated in social activities, especially muscle endurance and balance ability were remarkable reduction.

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　The purpose of this study was to find the relationship among bone density, lifestyle and movement ability in childhood. The bone density was assessed on 9605 children (4872 boys and 4733 girls) by an equipment called pediatric ultrasonic sound wave, which is made by Furuno Electric Co., Ltd.. In the meanwhile, a questionnaire investigation was also carried out including movement ability, physical activity, eating habits and fracture history. 　As the results, the values of SOS (speed of sound) decreased temporarily in boys at 8 years old and in girls at 7 years old, then increased significantly at the age from 9 to 11 (boys: 10 years old, girls: 9 years old), and it was significantly higher in girls than in boys at the ages of 8 to 11. 　Besides, the values of SOS was significantly greater in the children with higher movement ability than that with lower movement ability, and the children with regularly physical activity habit showed significantly higher values of SOS. On the other hand, the SOS in different groups divided by the different eating habits such as taking or not taking regular foods, the times of milk drinking and snacks showed the same values. 　In conclusion, this study suggested that the habitual physical activity during the growth period was an extremely effective way to obtain a maximal bone mass.

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　Treating obesity in preschool children is necessary in order to prevent arteriosclerosis. Body mass index (BMI) is used to evaluate obesity in children, but it may be inaccurate. This study aimed to examine the physique index in order to easily judge the obesity of preschool children. After determining 22 physique indexes, the x2 test was examined by 50 people. Furthermore, 300 people examined the accuracy of 19 physique indexes reselected with the x2 test. Nine physique indexes were ultimately selected to be effective for accurately judging the obesity of preschool children.

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　Stress affects memory acquisition, but the direction of the effect varies. Some studies report that stress enhances memory, and others report that stress impairs memory. The relation between the effect of pleasant stimuli on neural activity in the hippocampus and memory acquisition is unclear. The amygdala has a primary role in processing emotion and mediates affectively-influenced memory. The hippocampus is critically involved in memory. We evaluated the effect of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli on neuronal activity in these regions during picture-encoding using functional magnetic resonance imaging and memory acquisition. To test whether pleasant and unpleasant stimuli affect memory acquisition, a recall test was administered 20 minutes after encoding. 　Fifteen subjects (8 men; mean age 37.9±12.9 years [range 20-61]) participated. Pleasant and unpleasant stimuli increased blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signals in the amygdala. The pleasant stimulus enhanced neuronal activity in the hippocampus (i.e., increased BOLD signals) and increased memory acquisition. The unpleasant stimulus decreased both hippocampal neural activity and memory acquisition. Visual Analogue Scale scores for the pleasant and unpleasant stimuli were 8.7±0.5 and 9.0±0.6, respectively. 　Thus, pleasant and unpleasant stimuli might influence memory acquisition by increasing or reducing hippocampal activity during picture-encoding.

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　Body composition in children can be measured until about the age of 6 years using the impedance method, but in children below that age the findings are often treated as reference values. However, information on body composition is needed to verify body fatness in early childhood. In this study, we investigated the possibility of measuring body composition with the impedance method in young children, by comparing body fat percentage derived with the impedance method and body fatness judged from standard height and weight curves in children 3, 4, and 5 years old. The subjects were children aged 3 to 5 years (105 three-year-old boys, 111 four-year-old boys, 101 five-year-old boys, 92 three-year-old girls, 134 four-year-old girls, 106 five-year-old girls), whose body composition was measured by impedance. The changes with age were then investigated. A 5-step mean evaluation of body fat percentage was done and a polynomial regression chart of height against weight was made, and assessments of body fatness determined using the two methods were compared. No significant difference between the two assessments was seen in a comparison with the x2 test. Therefore, the validity of the impedance method in measuring body composition in young children is assumed to have been shown. However, for a more accurate understanding of body composition it will be necessary to analyze larger amounts of data for provision as basic data in body composition research.

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