This study examined the self-assessment of Niigata’s and Khabarovsk’s adolescents’ health status and their willingness to be vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic. A self-reported questionnaire was administered to 735 boys and girls (aged 15 years) from Niigata, Japan (n = 387), and Khabarovsk, Russia (n = 394), between May and July 2021. Specifically, this questionnaire focused on COVID-19, including a self-assessment of health status, adaptation to a new lifestyle, and impressions about the COVID-19 vaccination. The self-assessment was based on a 4-point scale: “Got very bad”; “Got a little bit bad”; “Did not change”; “Got better/I don’t know”. Additionally, binomial logistic regression was conducted to determine the association between the self-assessment of health status and the factors exacerbating their responses. Based on the findings, 25.7 and 29.9% of Niigata and Khabarovsk’s adolescents, respectively, selected “Got very bad” and “Got a little bit bad” for their self-assessments, while the binomial logistic regression showed that the difficulty of adapting to a new lifestyle was a factor worsening the boys’ subjective health. However, the items could not explain the deterioration of their subjective health in girls. Moreover, 76.9% of Niigata’s adolescents were positive about the COVID-19 vaccination, compared to 35.5% of the adolescents in Khabarovsk.

Background This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the triad risk assessment score and the sports injury rate in 116 female college athletes (average age, 19.8 ± 1.3 years) in seven sports at the national level of competition; 67 were teenagers, and 49 were in their 20s. Methods Those with menstrual deficiency for >3 months or <6 menses in 12 months were classified as amenorrheic athletes. Low energy availability was defined as adolescent athletes having a body weight <85% of ideal body weight, and for adult athletes in their 20s, a body mass index ≤17.5 kg/m2. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured on the heel of the right leg using an ultrasonic bone densitometer. Low BMD was defined as a BMD Z-score <−1.0. The total score for each athlete was calculated. The cumulative risk assessment was defined as follows: low risk (a total score of 0–1), moderate risk (2–5), and high risk (6). The injury survey recorded injuries referring to the injury survey items used by the International Olympic Committee. Results In swimming, significantly more athletes were in the low-risk category than in the moderate and high-risk categories (p = 0.004). In long-distance athletics, significantly more athletes were in the moderate-risk category than in the low and high-risk categories (p = 0.004). In the moderate and high-risk categories, significantly more athletes were in the injury group, whereas significantly more athletes in the low-risk category were in the non-injury group (p = 0.01). Significantly more athletes at moderate and high-risk categories had bone stress fractures and bursitis than athletes at low risk (p = 0.023). Discussion These results suggest that athletes with relative energy deficiency may have an increased injury risk.

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the sleep quality and nutrient intake of Japanese female college athletes to provide specific conditioning support. Methods: A cross-sectional survey conducted between December 2019 and January 2020 during the regular training season in Niigata City, located at 139°02′ E longitude and 37°55′ N latitude. Overall, 120 female university student-athletes from eight clubs were selected. All sports were at the national level of competition. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) assessed sleep quality. Nutrient intake was assessed using Excel nutrition software through the Food Intake Frequency Questionnaire. Results: The mean PSQI score was 4.5 ± 2.5, with 29% of participants having a PSQI score ≥ 5.5. The sleep duration was 6.8 ± 1.1 h, with 45% of participants sleeping <7 h. The energy intake was 1800 ± 419 kcal, with no correlation between PSQI score and nutrient intake. Conclusions: PSQI scores were higher compared with other studies, but many participants had shorter sleep duration and lower nutrient intake, these data suggest that there is the possibility of improving the habits of Japanese athletes by increasing the subjects’ amount of sleep time and food intake.

This study aimed to determine whether adolescents’ leisure screen time differed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared to before the pandemic, and to identify factors that affect leisure screen time among Japanese high school students. The Health Behavior in School Children questionnaire was used to investigate differences in eating habits and physical and mental health. The results showed that the leisure screen time of Japanese high school students was 2.6 h (SD = 1.4) before the pandemic, and 3.2 h (SD = 1.5) during the pandemic. The factors that increased leisure screen time were found to differ between boys and girls. No significant deterioration in physical and mental health was observed. The impact of the pandemic on eating habits differed in boys and girls. Boys reported “not feeling great about life” as a factor that increased leisure screen time during the pandemic, suggesting that negative emotions influenced the increase in leisure screen time. The pandemic had a significant impact on girls’ leisure screen time. Longer screen time should be carefully monitored because it can lead to sleep disturbances, worsening of mental health, and obesity. Compared with before the pandemic, the health status of boys and girls changed little. Eating habits tended to improve for both boys and girls.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the availability of information on dietary supplements as well as their use among high school students in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It also aimed to clarify the relationship between dietary awareness and the use of dietary supplements. Methods The survey was conducted online using Google Forms and asked about sex, age, height, weight, experience with supplements (current use, past use, or never used any use), types of supplements used, sources of information about supplements, and eating habits. The survey was conducted in high schools in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, in September 2020. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the Niigata University of Health and Welfare. Statistical analysis was conducted using R version 4.0.2 (2020–06-22), and comparisons between the two groups were made using the t test or χ² test with a significance level of 5%. Results A total of 317 subjects were analyzed, including 151 (47.6%) boys and 166 (52.4%) girls. Thirty-seven boys and 21 girls currently used supplements, while 32 boys and 29 girls used supplements in the past. The percentage of boys using supplements (currently or in the past) was 45.6%, which was significantly higher than that of girls (30.1%) (P = 0.004). The most commonly used supplements for boys were protein (57), vitamin C (22), and amino acids (19) and for girls were vitamin C (29), iron (15), and protein (13). The most common reason among boys for using supplements was “for muscle building” (n = 41, 59.4%) and among girls was “for diet and beauty” (n = 26, 52.0%). The most common source of information about supplements was the family, followed by the internet and social media. Girls who used supplements were clearly highly conscious about eating (P = 0.048). Conclusions Among Japanese high school students, boys had more experience using dietary supplements than girls. Female students who used supplements were more conscious, rather than neglectful, of their diet. Funding Sources Individual research expenses at Niigata University of Health and Welfare.