This study showed that TFS was associated with enhancement of some measures of lower limb physical performance in children. These results suggest that foot function should be evaluated with both the muscle strength and arch height of the foot in children.

BackgroundObesity is a primary factor of lifestyle-related diseases, and the age of its onset has decreased. The reactive oxygen species (ROS), the superoxide anion, is generated in the mitochondrial electron transport chain and the damage it induces in cells may be a contributing factor to obesity-related lifestyle diseases. In the present study, the influence of the ingestion of a high-fat diet (HFD) on superoxide anion generation in rat liver mitochondria (Mt) and membrane fluidity was investigated.MethodsMale Wistar rats were fed a normal diet (ND, n = 6) or HFD (n = 6). Liver Mt were isolated and oxygen consumption, superoxide anion production (the adrenaline method), and membrane fluidity (the spin label method) were measured.ResultsAfter 11 weeks, body weights and abdominal circumferences were higher in the HFD group than in the ND group. Mt oxygen consumption was higher in the HFD group than in the ND group. Superoxide anion production was significantly lower in the HFD group than in the ND group, while no significant changes were observed in membrane fluidity.ConclusionAlthough rats developed diet-induced obesity, it did not reach the level of disease development. The promotion of lipid metabolism appeared to reduce superoxide anion production, but did not influence membrane fluidity. While superoxide anion damages cells as an oxidative stress, ROS and superoxide dismutase are essential signaling molecules in the body. The present results suggest that the continuous ingestion of a HFD impairs Mt and induces disease development.

Aim: Poor sleep has been shown to be associated with the development of cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, in both adults and children. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and arterial stiffness indices in Japanese children and early adolescents.Methods: The data on 102 students (56 males, 46 females; mean age, 11.9 ± 1.8 years) were analyzed. As non-invasive arterial stiffness parameters, the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and heart-ankle pulse wave velocity (haPWV) were evaluated. Their students' sleep habits (bedtime and wake times on a usual weekday) were investigated using questionnaires, and based on these, their sleep durations were calculated.Results: The CAVI values in the males and females were 4.8 ± 0.9 and 4.7 ± 0.9 (arbitrary unit), respectively. haPWV values in the males and females were 5.5 ± 0.6 and 5.4 ± 0.6 m/s, respectively. Sleep duration in the males, but not in the females, was negatively correlated with CAVI (r = −0.356) and haPWV (r = −0.356), suggesting that students with short sleep duration could have increased arterial stiffness. After adjusting for confounders, such as age, sex, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, adiposity, and physical fitness, the correlation of sleep duration with CAVI, but not with haPWV, was still significant (partial r = −0.253, p < 0.05).Conclusion: Our findings suggest that shorter sleep duration influences arterial stiffening even in childhood.

Our results demonstrate that TFS has a different developmental pattern compared with HGS.

The purpose of this study was to compare effects of different amounts of carbohydrate (CHO) in beverage on plasma glucose (GLU) concentration during exercise after feeding breakfast. Seven healthy Japanese male subjects performed 30-min cycling at an intensity on the 75% of maximal load at 3-h after feeding breakfast under 3 types of CHO (0 g, 30 g and 150 g) beverage conditions. The subjects ingested 500 mL of beverage dissolved each amount of glucose at 30-min before the exercise. The GLU concentrations were measured at 35-and 10-min before the exercise and every 5-min during the exercise. The minimum GLU concentrations under the 30 g condition for all subjects were lower than a criterion for hypoglycemic (72 mg / dL). The mean value also fell below the criterion at from 10-to 20-min during exercise. The minimum GLU concentration under the 150 g condition of only one subject was lower than the criterion, but the mean value did not fall below the criterion. Significant negative correlations were found between the subjects' maximum oxygen uptake (V 4 O 2 max) and the decreases in GLU concentration from maximum to minimum under both the 30 g (r = -0.947, p < 0.01) and 150 g conditions (r = -0.884, p < 0.01). This study clarified that feeding breakfast at 3-h before the exercise followed by the 30 g CHO beverage ingestion at 30 min before the exercise induced exercise-induced hypoglycemia, and that the subjects with higher V 4 O 2 max had the greater decreases in GLU concentration.