The purpose of this study was to determine, using structural equation modelling (SEM), the direct and indirect influence of daily behaviours (i.e. exercise/learning durations), weight status, and physical fitness on academic performance among seventh‐grade schoolchildren, after controlling for socioeconomic status. We analysed cross‐sectional data from 274 schoolchildren (159 males and 115 females; 12–13 years old). Academic performance was assessed using the total grade points in eight academic subjects. Physical fitness was evaluated using the total score of eight physical fitness tests and weight status using body mass index. The daily behaviours and socioeconomic status were assessed by the questionnaire. The SEM showed an adequate fit to the data (χ² = 0.684, p = .710, RMSEA = .000). Physical fitness and learning durations had direct effects on academic performance (β = .301, p < .001; β = .132, p = .037, respectively) after controlling for confounders. Healthy weight status and exercise habits positively indirectly influenced academic performance via physical fitness. These findings suggest that, independent of socioeconomic status and learning durations, exercise habits and maintaining healthy weight status may indirectly contribute to academic success via better physical fitness in children.

Older adults who use digital technology are desired to adapt to digitalization and literacy. One required aspect is eHealth literacy, measured with the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). Many studies on eHealth literacy have used the eHEALS to examine the health behaviors of college students, relatively younger adults, and Internet users. However, the relevance of eHealth literacy to social activity has not yet been studied in older adults. The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between eHealth literacy and health behaviors and social activities (community, cultural, and sports activities) and to investigate the factors associated with eHEALS scores among community-dwelling older adults. The mean eHEALS score was 12.4 points (SD 8.2), with the majority (73.3%) having the lowest score (the lowest score is 8 points). Males (17.6, SD 10.5) scored significantly higher than females (11.8, SD 7.7). The eHEALS score had a significant relationship with both cultural and community activity. Five factors significantly associated with having the lowest eHEALS score were cultural activity at least once a week, no cultural activity, no community activity, total IADL score, and intellectual activity. These results suggest that eHealth literacy is associated with community activity and cultural activity among older adults.

Although the effectiveness of face-to-face and remote intervention for increasing and maintaining physical activity (PA) have been compared, the effect of combining the two forms of intervention is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of the remote PA follow-up intervention after the face-to-face PA program on changing PA behaviors and some health outcomes in healthy middle-aged adults. As a secondary analysis, we also attempted a preliminary analysis of the difference in the number of behavior change interviews in the remote PA follow-up intervention. After the face-to-face intervention, 30 healthy subjects were randomly divided into four behavior change coaching interviews (BCI4 group) or three BCI (BCI3 group). The results of this study showed that body weight, body fat mass, and waist circumference were significantly reduced after face-to-face intervention, and were further reduced after remote PA follow-up intervention. However, the difference in the number of BCI affected only body fat mass. The remote PA follow-up intervention may have potential to maintain the effects of face-to-face intervention. In the future, it is necessary to refine the research design and conduct a full-scale intervention study.

Background: Several previous studies investigated physical activity of older adults using wearable devices, but more studies need to develop normative values for chronic disease conditions. This study aimed to investigate physical activity using a triaxial activity monitor in community-dwelling older Japanese adults with and without lifestyle-related diseases. Methods: Data from a total of 732 community-dwelling older Japanese men and women were collected and analyzed in a cross-sectional study. The participants’ physical activity was assessed for seven consecutive days by a triaxial accelerometer. Physical activity was assessed by number of lifestyle-related diseases and six lifestyle-related diseases categories by gender. Physical activity was assessed separately for total, locomotive, and nonlocomotive physical activity. Results: Participants with multiple (two or more) diseases had significantly lower total light-intensity physical activity (LPA; 278.5 ± 8.4 min/day) and nonlocomotive LPA (226.4 ± 7.0 min/day) versus without diseases in men. Compared in each disease category, total LPA and nonlocomotive LPA was significantly lower in men with hypertension and diabetes. Total sedentary time was significantly higher in men with hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. Locomotive LPA was significantly lower in men with diabetes. In women, locomotive moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity was significantly higher in women with diabetes, and nonlocomotive moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity was significantly lower in women with heart disease. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that older Japanese men with multiple lifestyle-related diseases had lower physical activity. In each disease category, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease affected lower physical activity, especially in men.

An aging population necessitates strategies for extending healthy lifespan, with physical frailty as a key obstacle. Social activity participation is a potential intervention. However, previous studies examining the association between social activity participation and physical frailty have predominantly employed cross-sectional designs with single-wave surveys or longitudinal designs with two-wave surveys, and studies using multi-wave longitudinal designs are limited. Few studies have systematically evaluated the classification of physical frailty in subsequent follow-up assessments while considering temporal variations in social activity participation. Therefore, we studied the effect of temporal variations in social activity on subsequent physical frailty classifications using a three-wave survey. We found that sustained non-participation in sports-based activities significantly increased the risk of Pre-Frailty or Frailty at follow-up compared to sustained participation. Similarly, transitioning from participation to non-participation in culture-based activities increased this risk. These results suggest that maintaining participation in sports activities and avoiding cessation of cultural activities are crucial for preventing frailty. Individuals who consistently avoided sports or stopped cultural activities were more likely to be classified as pre-frail or frail in subsequent assessments.