Body composition can be measured with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in children from the age of around 6 years, and these values often handled as reference values in children younger than that age. During this period it is difficult to obtain information on the amount of body fat and muscle from DXA. However, information on body composition is needed to examine the level of body fatness in young children. Considering this, we examined the usefulness of BIA, with which measurements can be made safely and easily with no radiation exposure, in measuring body composition in young children. In this review we discuss the place of BIA in body composition research and its utility, and investigate the validity of BIA in determining the body fatness level of young children by comparing it with body mass index (BMI), which is derived from height and weight, and a polynomial regression evaluation of weight versus height. Because of the difficulty of measuring the amount of body fat in determining the body fatness of young children, standard height and weight growth curves or other tools have been used in such determinations to date. However, judgments are made from BMI using height and weight, and it can be said that even in young children the amount of body fat accumulated differs between those with the same body type. Thus, there is no information at all on whether physical strength and motor performance in early childhood are influenced by obese and thin body types as judged by body mass index, or whether it is the amounts of body fat and muscle that influence them. We obtained body composition information on young children, including these issues, with BIA and here look at the distributions in the amounts of body fat and muscle due to differences in morphological properties and the differences in motor ability due to differences in morphological properties. We discuss the validity of body composition measurements with BIA in young children with these attempts, and provide basic information for the study of body composition in young children.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the maximum isokinetic strength and volume of the lower and upper extremity muscles and the throwing velocity in handball players. Twenty male handball players volunteered for the investigation (20.1 ± 1.4 years). They were instructed to throw a handball as fast as possible toward an official goal, using 7-m throw, three-step running throw, and jump throw. The ball-throwing velocity was determined using a Doppler-radar gun. Each player’s body composition was measured using a bioelectrical impedance data acquisition system. The dynamic muscle strengths of their limbs’ extensor and flexor and shoulder diagonal movements were measured at low angular velocities using a Biodex system 3 dynamometer. The characteristics of 7-m throw were similar to those of the three-step running throw. A characteristic of the jump throw was the correlations between the ball-throwing velocity and the volume of thigh muscle and strength of the hip extension. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrated that the handball players used two different strategies, the run-up and floor contact, which caused ball velocity differences.

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There are very few studies on the growth and development of physique and motor performance of infant in South Korea. Moreover, studies regarding relational composition among physique, body composition and motor performance almost have not been done. This study analyzed the relationship between body composition and motor performance in young Korean girls, and investigated the resulting regression construction. The subjects were 31 five-year-old girls and 39 six-year-old girls in the city of Seoul. Physique, body composition, and motor performance were measured and a correlation analysis was performed. First to third order regression polynomial analyses were then performed for items found to have a significant correlation. A 3-step mean evaluation method from the body fat percentage statistic was then applied, and an analysis of variance was performed for motor performance of groups based on classification of body fatness. The results showed significant correlations between body fat percentage and muscle percentage in hanging from a horizontal bar in 5-year-old girls (P<0.05). For the 5-year-old girls a first-order regression polynomial was judged to be valid for hanging from a horizontal bar with respect to body fat percentage and muscle percentage. Thus, the composition of change was confirmed for the first time. But in the 6-year-old girls, the results showed no significant correlations between body fat percentage and muscle percentage in motor performance. Next, motor performance in groups determined by the 3-step mean value evaluation in body fatness and level of muscle strength was compared using a multiple comparison test, and significant differences were seen in hanging from a horizontal bar and one-legged hop in 5-year-old children, and in one-legged hop and jump over and crawl in 6-year-old children (P<0.05). As the results, it was suggested that body fat and muscle affect muscle endurance, however, was not clear in regard to relationship between motor performance and body composition in young children.

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The aim of the present study was to elucidate how nurses practice dementia care in intermediate nursing facilities, using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Specifically, this study investigated whether the nurses practiced person-centered care (PCC), in which the “personhood,” “relationships,” and “individuality” of patients are considered important. A questionnaire survey was administered to 1,535 nurses, who belonged to four intermediate nursing facilities in the Tokai region in Japan. The facilities were selected through probability sampling. The survey used the Standards in Dementia Care nursing version. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using PASW STATISTICS 18.0 for Windows. The results revealed that the nurses paid attention to the care of the elderly through activities related to the “body functions” and “body structures” subsections of the ICF because these subsections required medical knowledge. The dementia patient's telling bad health to the feeling others becomes difficult. Therefore, it is suggested that caring that pays attention to “body functions and body structure” be important. In dementia care, where the “personhood,” “relationships,” and “individuality” of patients are considered important, the nurses are able to assess the cognitive ability and mental state of patients, facilitate intellectual activities of patients, and improve their relationship with patients. Therefore, it was suggested that a thorough understanding of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and the encouragement of intellectual activities were connected with dementia care in which the “personhood,” “relationships,” and “individuality” of patients were considered important.

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