Psychological, social, and environmental factors to meeting physical activity recommendations among Japanese adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although the benefits of the recommended level of physical activity on reducing chronic diseases are well-established, most of the Japanese population is not sufficiently active. Thus, examining correlates is an important prerequisite for designing relevant polices and effective programs. The present study investigated psychological, social, and environmental factors associated with meeting physical activity recommendations among Japanese adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were analyzed for 1,932 men and women (43.6 ± 13.0 years), who responded to an Internet-based cross-sectional survey. Self-reported measure of physical activity, psychological (self-efficacy, pros, and cons), social (social support, health professional advice), environmental (home fitness equipment, access to facilities, neighborhood safety, enjoyable scenery, frequently observing others exercising, residential area), and demographic (gender, age, marital status, educational level, household income level, employment status) variables were obtained. Based on the current national guidelines for exercise in Japan (23 METs·hour per week), respondents were divided into two categories–recommended and not recommended (insufficient and inactive)–according to their estimated weekly physical activity level. An adjusted logistic regression model was utilized.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When adjusting for all other variables, self-efficacy (men: OR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.55–2.94, women: OR = 2.72; 95% CI: 1.82–4.08) and possessing home fitness equipment (men: OR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.14–2.10, women: OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.01–1.99) for both genders, social support (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.06–1.97) for men, and enjoyable scenery (OR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.09–2.36) for women were positively associated with attaining the recommended level of physical activity. In women, cons (OR = 0.47; 95% CI: 0.33–0.67) and living in rural areas (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.25–0.97) were negatively associated with meeting the physical activity recommendations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the psychological, social, and environmental domains, significant correlates of attaining the recommended level of physical activity were observed. Men and women had different patterns of psychological, social, and environmental correlates. These findings suggest that an intervention design that accounts for those correlates may more effectively promote physical activity among Japanese adults.</p

Mesoscopic Multimodal Imaging Provides New Insight to Tumor Tissue Evaluation : An Example of Macrophage Imaging of Hepatic Tumor using Organosilica Nanoparticles

Multimodal imaging using novel multifunctional nanoparticles provides new approach to biomedical field. Thiol-organosilica nanoparticles containing iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and rhodamine B (thiol OS-MNP/Rho) were applied to multimodal imaging of hepatic tumor of Long−Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rat. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of LEC rats revealed tumors in the liver clearly and semi-quantitatively due to a labeling of macrophages in liver. The fluorescent imaging (FI) showed abnormal fluorescent patterns of the liver at the mesoscopic level that was between macroscopic and microscopic level. We performed correlation analysis between optical imaging including FI and MRI. We found that the labeled macrophages located specific area in the tumor tissue and influenced the tumor size on MRI. In addition histological observation showed the labeled macrophages related specific tissue in the pathological region. We demonstrated a new approach to evaluate tumor tissue at the macroscopic and microscopic level as well as mesoscopic level using multimodal imaging

Joint associations of physical activity and screen time with overweight among japanese adults

Background: although both insufficient physical activity (PA) and high screen time (ST) are independent risk factors for obesity, how the combination of sufficient/insufficient PA and high/low ST could increase obesity risk among the adult population of Japan is not known. This study examined joint associations of PA and ST with overweight among Japanese adults. Methods: an Internet-based survey collected data on height, weight, self-reported time spent in PA and ST, and sociodemographic variables from 2832 adults. Respondents were categorized into sufficient PA/low ST, sufficient PA/high ST, insufficient PA/low ST, or insufficient PA/high ST categories as per public PA guidelines and the median of ST. Logistic regression analysis examined the odds ratios (OR) of being overweight (body mass index, &#8805; 25 kg/m2) according to the categories of PA and ST. Results: in comparison with the sufficient PA/low ST category, participants in the insufficient PA/high ST category were significantly more likely overweight (OR, 1.48; 95% confidence interval [95%CI), 1.14, 1.93) after adjusting for sociodemographic variables. A significantly higher OR for overweight (including obesity) among insufficient PA/high ST category was also observed in men, but no significant association was found in women. Conclusions: both insufficient PA and prolonged ST contribute to overweight and obesity among Japanese adults. Public health initiatives addressing obesity in Japan need to consider both promoting PA and reducing ST, especially in me