Provision of Dietary Guidance Focusing on Shikohin Consumption in Health Promotion Programs / 日本農村医学会雑誌

Currently in Japan, undernutrition is increasing among those aged 65 years or older and needs to be addressed. Energy intake also falls short of estimated energy requirements (physical activity level II) among individuals 20 years or older, except for women in their 70s. In order for these energy and nutrient intake requirements to be met, we believe it is necessary to advocate more moderate and appropriate consumption of Shikohin (pleasurable, non-essential food and beverages such as alcohol and coffee). Therefore, we have initiated dietary guidance group sessions focusing on appropriate amounts of Shikohin consumption in our long-term support health promotion programs, which are organized with the goal of care prevention. In our group sessions, we offer guidance to participants with excessive Shikohin consumption to moderate their consumption, and we offer guidance to those with appropriate levels of Shikohin consumption on nutritional intake and balancing meals. Results for those with excessive Shikohin consumption have shown declining amounts of Shikohin consumption and improvements in nutrition and balanced meal intake. Among participants with previously appropriate levels of Shikohin consumption we found moderately increased use of Shikohin products. Overall, our results suggest that interventions are appropriate and helpful for persons with excessive Shikohin consumption. Guidance is also necessary on adjusting, optimizing, or maintaining appropriate Shikohin consumption for all participants of such programs regardless of their Shikohin consumption levels.

Prospects for Analysis and Follow-up Guidance Based on a Combination of Health Checkups and Dietary Habit Evaluations / 日本農村医学会雑誌

　　The impact of health guidance is recently becoming higher quality health services, and the next task is finding ways to establish a system that delivers higher quality services. Institutions that provide health guidance need to improve their services by analyzing the lifestyle habits and health examination results (e.g., BMI and blood pressure) of their clients. This study conducted simultaneous health and dietary habit checkups so that key elements for guidance (e.g., individual dietary habits, population characteristics, and main tasks) could be shared among guidance providers and be utilized for follow-up guidance. Most subjects were in their sixties or seventies, many of whom were diagnosed with obesity and/or dyslipidemia based on health examination results. Dietary habit evaluations revealed high intake of a main dish among both men and women. Intake of a main dish and a sweet snack was particularly high among men. Many subjects who excessively take in both a main dish and sweet snack were obese with a high percentage of saturated fatty acid-derived energy, indicating that this subgroup needs to be prioritized to receive guidance. Those with an appropriate intake of both a main dish and sweet snack might have consumed inadvisable levels of other dietary components, including luxury food items. However, an individual approach is also required to address the risk associated with intake of a low percentage of protein-derived energy. Similar studies in other populations and other communities are needed to assess whether the characteristics revealed in this study are specific to this particular population.

Incorporation of Locomotive Syndrome Prevention Program / 日本農村医学会雑誌

　　Muscle training is effective for improving motor function, although withdrawal within 3-6 months has been reported in many cases. Thus, we aimed to establish locomotion training recommended by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association and our own locomotive syndrome prevention training (herein after collectively referred to as “locomotive training”) as a daily routine. Subjects were 30 participants of a training course held in 2014. Nine sessions (including 1 follow-up session) were organized to repetitively teach the importance of locomotive training; participants were instructed to record daily training activities during the course. Duration of oneleg standing balance with eyes open was measured each session so that participants were aware of the effects of the training. At the time of the last session of the course and at the follow-up session, 90% and 83% of participants completed home training twice or three times a week, respectively. Participants reported physical changes such as amelioration of knee pain and ability to put on a Wellington boot while standing on one leg. Also, physical fitness tests performed before and after the course showed significant improvement on the Timed Up and Go test, 30-s chair stand test, and one-leg standing with eyes open after the training course. Furthermore, the locomotive syndrome test resulted in a decrease in the number of participants who were judged to have a possibility to suffer from locomotive syndrome. Taken together, introducing a cycle comprising the three components of motivation-building through lectures, increasing awareness by recording performance, and awareness of the training effect by measuring duration of one-leg standing balance contributed to training continuity and consequent improvement in motor function.