ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the interaction of habitual exercise and candidate gene polymorphisms related to bone on osteo sono-assessment index (OSI) by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) in middle-aged and elderly Japanese. Participants were classified into exercise group (E; n=172, 62.3 ± 7.7 yr) and sedentary group (S; n=65, 58.6 ± 9.2 yr). The OSI was measured with AOS-100. DNA was extracted from blood, and single nucleotide polymorphism in vitamin D receptor, estrogen receptor α, and transforming growth factor-βI were genotyped by TaqMan assay. Group E had significantly lower body weight and body mass index (BMI) than Group S. In men, although Group E was older than Group S, Group E had significantly higher OSI rather than Group S. There was no significant interaction between habitual exercise and each gene polymorphism on OSI. These results essentially remained unchanged even when analysis of covariance was applied after adjustment for age, body weight, and BMI. These results suggest habitual exercise and genetic factors have no interaction on OSI in middle-aged and elderly Japanese. Further investigations are needed to prove the interaction of other gene polymorphisms and exercise.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of long-term habitual exercise on daily total energy expenditure (TEE) and its components, body composition and maximal oxygen uptake (VO<sub>2</sub>max) in middle-aged Japanese women. Twenty-eight subjects aged 39 to 58 years were assigned either to a nonhabitual exercise group (Control ; n=12) or a habitual exercise group (Exercise ; n=16). TEE, physical activity level (PAL) and the daily physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) were assessed by doubly labeled water (DLW) method. The exercise-induced energy expenditure (ExEE) and nonexercise-induced energy expenditure (NExEE) were evaluated based on the activity record investigation conducted simultaneously during the DLW measurement period. The result follows that TEE was significantly (p<0.01) higher in the Exercise group (2520 kcal · day<sup>-1</sup>) than in the Control group (1921 kcal · day<sup>-1</sup>). There was no significant difference in basal metabolic rate between the groups. PAEE and ExEE were significantly higher in the Exercise group than in the Control group (p<0.01). Habitual exercise induced an increase in TEE without resulting in a compensatory reduction of NExEE. The percentage body fat (fat%) was significantly lower in the Exercise group (25.5%) than in the Control group (30.9%). VO<sub>2</sub>max was higher in the Exercise group (1788 ml · min<sup>-1</sup>) than in the Control group (1417 ml. min<sup>-1</sup>). After correction for body weight, fat% was negatively associated with TEE (p<0.01), PAEE (p<0.01) and ExEE (p=0.05), while VO<sub>2</sub>max was positively associated with TEE (p<0.05), PAL (p<0.05), PAEE (p<0.05) and ExEE (p<0.01). These results suggest that habitual exercise is associated with the increase of TEE, the improvement of body composition and VO<sub>2</sub>max. The improvement of VO<sub>2</sub>max was mainly caused by the increase in ExEE, indicating that the exercise intensity is important to the improvement of cardiorespiratory endurance fitness.
ABSTRACT
The present study was aimed to survey the relation between habitual exercise and the quality of nocturnal sleep. Questionnaires on exercise behavior and sleep were given to 452 male and female university students. The questionnaires included such questions as; on their habitual exercise, the kind of exercise, duration and frequency of doing the exercise, the period of continuation, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and subjective feeling of their exercise load for health (heavy, suitable, light) . TMIN Life Habits Inventory were conducted to ascertain the quality of sleep. The results of all the students showed that they were more likely to experience insufficient asleep period (64.6%), were not refreshed in the morning (40.0%), found unbearable daytime napping (38.5%) . The student group with habitual exercise (n=237) showed significant “more easily fall asleep” (p<0.05) and “more insufficient asleep period” (p<0.05) tendencies than the group without habitual exercise. Further, three groups divided by their subjective feeling toward their exercise load showed some significantly different quality of sleep. The students who felt that their habitual exercise was “suitable” or “light” showed better sleep, with reference to frequency of mid-sleep awakening and deepness of sleep, as compared with students who felt that their exercise was “heavy” (p<0.05) . These results indicate that suitable or light habitual exercise might facilitate better quality of sleep, while heavy exercise which strongly activate the sympathetic nervous system, pose a risk to disrupt sleep.
ABSTRACT
This study was designed to investigate the relationships between the tendencies of Type A behavior pattern (TABP) and daily sports activity for college students, under a hypothesis that daily physical training weakens the TABP tendencies. A total of 2587 students in Japanese colleges volunteered. They were divided into two groups ; an athlete group and a non-athlete group. KG's Daily Life Questionnaire was used to investigate the tendency of TABP. The athlete group showed higher TABP scores than those of the non-athlete group. Additionally, the higher competition level group showed higher scores of TABP than those of the lower level group. Contrary to the hypothesis, the athlete group showed higher TABP tendencies than those of the non-athlete group. This result might be caused by several factors, such as the nature of competition, high levels of stress involved in competitive sports and/or specific backgrounds of Japanese college sports clubs.
ABSTRACT
We studied the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and history of habitual exercise in a group of university students comprising 41 athletes (27 males and 14 females) and 39 non-athletes (24 males and 15 females), ranging in age from 18 to 28 years. Their athletic history during elementray, junior and senior high schools was surveyed. Subjects who had engaged in athletic activities more than 3 days/week for more than two years at each school level were classified as a former physically active group, whereas the others were classified as controls. The BMD of the femur (femoral neck, Ward's triangle, trochanteric region) and vertebrae (L2-4) was ieasured using dual-photon absorptiometry with a <SUP>153</SUP>Gd source. The following results were obtained: 1) University athletes showed significantly higher BMD of the femur and L2-4 than non-athletes. 2) No significant difference was found for either sex between the physically active group on elementary school days and the control group with regard to BMD of the femur and L2-4. 3) The BMD of the femoral neck and trochanteric region in the male physically active group on junior high school days was significantly higher than that in the control group. The BMD of the femoral neck in the female physically active group on junior high school days was significantly higher than that in the control group. 4) The BMD of the femur and L2-4 in the female physically active group on senior high school days was significantly higher than that in the control group, whereas no difference was found between these two groups for males. These results suggest that regular exercise during puberty is effective for increasing BMD, especially in females. The finding that increased BMD in association with physical activity on senior high school days was observed only in females may be due to the synergistic effect of estrogen and exercise.