This study aimed to determine whether the distance between the medial epicondyles of the femur is useful as a screening test for varus knee. The participants were 53 community-dwelling older adults. First, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to obtain the cutoff value for the distance between the medial epicondyles of the femur. The cutoff values and femorotibial angle (FTA) were used to compare body composition and physical function between the groups. The cutoff value for the distance between the medial epicondyles of the femur was 2.75 cm. The intergroup comparison based on the FTA revealed significant differences in lower-limb muscle mass, grip strength, and quadriceps muscle strength. The results of the cutoff value-based comparison showed significant differences in skeletal and lower-limb muscle mass, grip strength, and quadriceps muscle strength, all of which were consistent with each other. Measuring the distance between the medial epicondyles of the femur is a useful screening test for varus knees in community-dwelling older adults.

Exercise performance may be enhanced by moderate increasing arousal levels before exercise. Although it is known that playing video games increases physiological and psychological arousal levels, the effects of pre-exercise “video game playing” on exercise performance have not been investigated. We examined the influence of playing a racing video games before exercise on sprint cycling performance. Twelve healthy male university students performed one set of 10 s sprint cycling prior to exercise in the no video game (Con), video game with game sound (SV), and video game without game sound (NSV) conditions on separate occasions. The subjective arousal levels were measured before and after the video game using a questionnaire. The subjective arousal levels after playing the video game were higher in SV than in Con and NSV (p < 0.001, p < 0.01), while higher in NSV than in Con (p < 0.01). The maximum power per body weight during sprint cycling was higher in SV and NSV than in Con (p < 0.05, p < 0.05). The mean power per body weight during sprint cycling was higher in SV than in Con (p < 0.05), while tended to be higher in NSV than in Con (p < 0.1), although NSV tended to be lower than in SV (p < 0.1). These results suggest that the subjective arousal levels increase by playing a racing video game with or without game sounds. The results also suggest that playing a racing video game increases the subjective arousal levels and increases the maximum power and the mean power during sprint cycling.