Identifying and managing obesity in children is essential to prevent obesity-related diseases in adulthood. This study aimed to evaluate the association between body mass index (BMI), degree of obesity, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and body fat—particularly excess body fat. Participants included 660 children aged 9–12 years (349 boys and 311 girls). Fat mass, fat-free mass, and body fat percentage were assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis. The discriminatory ability of BMI, degree of obesity, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio to identify excess body fat—defined as body fat percentage exceeding the 85th, 90th, or 95th percentile—was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and precision-recall (PR) curve analyses. Classification performance was further evaluated using a confusion matrix, accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, Cohen’s kappa coefficient, and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC). The areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) and 95

Perceived health competence is thought to contribute to lifelong healthy behavior. However, the factors that affect perceived health competence have not been investigated. We investigated the associations among perceived health competence, effortful control, self-control, and personality traits in university students and proposed a model of how these factors affect perceived health competence. The participants were 320 Japanese university students who completed a questionnaire regarding their height, weight, perceived health competence, effortful control, self-control, and personality traits. The three-step multiple regression analysis showed that effortful control was positively associated with the perceived health competence, and self-control was positively with, and impulsivity was inversely associated with effortful control respectively, indicating that effortful control was an intermediate factor. Structural equation modeling showed a good fit for both genders, with a common path for both genders to perceived health competence via effortful control and a different involvement of personality traits for men and women. These results suggest that effortful control is directly associated with perceived health competence; in addition, both self-control and impulsiveness are indirectly associated with perceived health competence via effortful control.

A variety of easy-to-use commercial bioelectrical impedance appliances are available. The aim of this study was to examine the usefulness of a commercially available body composition meter using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) by comparing its measurement results with those obtained from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The participants were 443 children aged from 10 to 14 years (226 boys and 217 girls). Fat mass, fat-free mass, lean body mass, percentage of body fat, and bone mineral contents were evaluated for all participants using BIA and DXA. The agreement in the anthropometric data obtained from both devices was analyzed using correlation analysis, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), Bland–Altman plots, and ordinary least products regression analysis. Equivalence between both devices was tested by two one-sided t -test. All measured indicators showed strong linear correlations between the two measurement systems (r, 0.853–1.000). Fat mass, fat-free mass, and lean body mass showed absolute concordance (ICC, 0.902–0.972; Lin’s CCC, 0.902–0.972). BIA overestimated bone mineral content (62.7–66.5%) and underestimated percentage of body fat (− 8.9 to − 0.8%), lean body mass (− 3.5 to − 1.8%), and body mass (− 0.8 to − 0.5%). For fat mass and fat-free mass, the overestimate or underestimate varied according to the sex and statistical analysis test. Bland–Altman analysis and ordinary least products analysis showed fixed bias and proportional bias in all indicators. Results according to quartiles of body mass index showed poor agreement for fat mass and percentage of body fat in both boys and girls in the lowest body mass index quartile. The present results revealed strong linear correlations between BIA and DXA, which confirmed the validity of the present single-frequency BIA-derived parameters. Our results suggest that BIA cannot provide the exact same values as DXA for some body composition parameters, but that performance is sufficient for longitudinal use within an individual for daily health management and monitoring.

This study aimed to examine the association between muscle mass and perception of body shape, desired body shape, physical strength, exercise habits, and eating behaviors. Height, weight, and body composition in 270 female university students were measured. The questionnaire on body shape perception, desired body shape, dieting experience, current, and past exercise habits, exercise preference, and eating behaviors were administered. The analysis of covariance with body fat mass as the covariate found that the skeletal muscle index (SMI) was different among each group on each of body perception or desired body shape (all, p < 0.001). In the post hoc test on body shape perception, the SMI in "obese" was significantly more than that in "slim" (p < 0.001) and "normal" (p < 0.001). In the desired body shape, the SMI in "become thin" was more than that in "maintain as current shape" (p < 0.001). Further, a significant difference was found among the categories of diet experience, with body fat mass as the covariate. In the post hoc test, the SMI in "yes" was more than that in "no" (p < 0.001). These results indicate that not only body fat mass but skeletal muscle mass drives young females' desire for thinness even with exercise advantages.

We investigated associations among attitude toward breakfast, appetite for breakfast, wake time, personality traits, self-esteem, and frequency of eating breakfast in university students and proposed a model of factors affecting the frequency of eating breakfast. The participants, 555 Japanese university students (177 men, 378 women), completed a questionnaire about their height and weight, living with family, wake time, frequency of eating breakfast, appetite for breakfast, attitude toward breakfast, personality traits, and self-esteem. Appetite for breakfast was evaluated with a four-point Likert-type scale. Attitude toward breakfast was assessed with a 13-item questionnaire using a five-point Likert-type scale; responses to the items were summed, and divided by the number of items to produce a score. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that frequency of eating breakfast was positively associated with appetite for breakfast and attitude toward breakfast, and inversely associated with wake time. Wake time was inversely associated with attitude toward breakfast, and appetite for breakfast was positively associated with attitude toward breakfast. Structural equation modeling showed that the structured model based on the multiple regression analysis was a good fit for both men (chi-square value to the degrees of freedom [χ2/df] = 1.096, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.023) and women (χ2/df = 1.510, RMSEA = 0.037). These results suggest that wake time and appetite for breakfast are directly associated with frequency of eating breakfast. Attitude toward breakfast mediates the indirect association between frequency of eating breakfast and both wake time and appetite for breakfast. V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the 20-item Japanese version of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire for Children (DEBQ-C). A population-based sample of 502 Japanese school children who were fifth- and sixth-graders in elementary schools and first- and second-graders in junior high schools was assessed. A sample was randomly split into two subsamples, one for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and another for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Internal consistency estimates for subscales (restrained, emotional, and external) were evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Measurement invariance was examined across each subgroup (genders: boys and girls, school categories: elementary school and junior high school, body mass index (BMI) categories: underweight, normal weight, and overweight) by using multi-group CFA. The Japanese version of the DEBQ-C demonstrates good results of item analysis. The three-factor structure of the original DEBQ-C was supported by both EFA and CFA. The reliability of each factor was also satisfied (restrained: α = 0.86, emotional: α = 0.90, external: α = 0.86). Results of multi-group confirmatory factor analysis supported its metric and scalar or partial scalar measurement invariance across all subgroups. In gender subgroup, girls scored higher on restrained eating. In school subgroup, junior high school children scored higher on emotional and external eating. In BMI subgroup, overweight children scored higher on restrained eating. These findings suggest that the Japanese version of the DEBQ-C is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument for assessing eating behaviors across gender, school categories, and BMI categories in Japanese children.

We investigated the association of anthropometric status, perceived stress, and personality traits with eating behavior in university students.

Purpose: We investigated the purpose and the motivation for the future practice of physical activity and related factors in Japanese university students. Materials and Methods: The participants were 499 university students (407 men and 92 women). Participants were surveyed using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Questionnaire items were anthropometrics, current exercise habits, preference for exercise, existence of exercise partners, benefits of exercise, self-efficacy for exercise, and the purpose to be motivated to exercising in the future. Results: The exercise group had higher scores for preference for exercise, exercise partners, self-efficacy for exercise, and benefits of exercise than the non-exercise group. The exercise group also reported being more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future than the nonexercise group. In the exercise group, those who felt benefits of exercise were more likely to be motivated to exercise for enhancement of health, enjoyment, making friends, prevention of illness, and enhancement of competitiveness. In the non-exercise group, those who had a preference for exercise were more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future for enjoyment, prevention of illness, and enhancement of competitiveness. In both the exercise and non-exercise groups, women were markedly more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future for aesthetics. Conclusions: These results indicate that there is a difference in the purpose and the motivation for future practice of physical activity between the exercise group and the non-exercise group as well as between genders.

Purpose Recent studies have shown that perceived social support is associated with gratitude and sense of coherence, but evidence for this concept remains scarce. In the present study, we investigated relationships between social support, gratitude, and sense of coherence, focusing on the construct of and source of social support among young women. Methods The study was conducted in 2014 in Japan. Participants comprised 208 female university students (aged 19.9 ± 1.1 years), who completed a self-administered anonymous questionnaire regarding perceived social support, gratitude, and sense of coherence. Results Emotional and instrumental social support from acquaintances were found to be lower than those from family and friends. Gratitude was positively correlated with all forms of social support except instrumental social support from acquaintances. However, sense of coherence was positively correlated with both emotional and instrumental social support from family and only emotional social support from acquaintances. Multiple regression analysis showed that emotional support from family and emotional support from acquaintances were positively associated with gratitude whereas emotional support from family was associated with sense of coherence. Conclusion These results indicate that emotional social support from family was related to both gratitude and sense of coherence.

Objective: We investigated how social support and sense of coherence mediate the relationship between gratitude and well-being. Methods: We conducted a survey in July 2014 (T1) and September 2014 (T2). The participants were 164 Japanese university student women. They completed the questionnaire measuring gratitude at T1, and social support, sense of coherence, happiness, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affects at T2. Results: Gratitude was associated with both emotional and instrumental social support, but only emotional social support was positively associated with sense of coherence. Sense of coherence was positively associated with happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect, and negatively associated with negative affect. Conclusions: These results indicate that gratitude enhances well-being, mediated by emotional social support and sense of coherence.

The management of eating behavior plays an important role in health maintenance. In this study, we investigated the relationship between eating behavior and effortful control in female young adults. Participants completed the questionnaire measures of effortful control and eating behaviors and Stroop cognitive interference task. The results showed that restrained eating was positively correlated with activation control; emotional eating was negatively correlated with inhibitory control and attentional control; external eating was negatively correlated with inhibitory, activation, and attentional control. The scores for activation control and restrained eating were higher for participants with a low Stroop error rate than for those with a high Stroop error rate. These results indicate that restrained eating has a different association with effortful control than doing emotional and external eating.

Purpose The present study investigated the influence of peers’ and family members’ body shapes on the perception of body image and desire for thinness in Japanese female students. Methods The study included 342 female, Japanese university students between the ages of 18 years and 22 years. They completed an anonymous questionnaire, which included questions related to anthropometry and body perception. Eating behavior was assessed by the Japanese version of the Eating Attitude Test-26. Results Many students overestimated their body shape (81.2% of underweight students and 74.6% of normal students) and had a desire for thinness (41.0% of underweight students, 88.2% of normal students, and 100% of overweight students). One of the main reasons for the overestimation of their body shape was comparison with others. Participants who were interested in a friend’s body shape were almost three times more likely to have a desire for thinness than those who were not interested in a female friend’s body shape (odds ratio: 3.06, P=0.014). Conclusion The results indicate a possibility that a female Japanese student’s young female friends’ body shapes, influences her desire for thinness or her perception of her own body shape.

Menstrual cycle-related symptoms are an important health issue for many women, and some may affect cardiac autonomic regulation. In the present study, we evaluated the cardiovascular and physiological stress response to 12-h short-term fasting in the menstrual phases of healthy young women.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship among body image perceptions, a desire for thinness, and dieting behavior in young females in Japan. The subjects were 302 Japanese female university students (age 19.9 ± 1.4 years). An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted between July and August 2011. The questionnaire clarified the subjects’ physical status, perception about personal body shape, desired body shape, the time frame when they first thought about body shape dieting, exercise habits, and eating behaviors. The results revealed that many of the underweight or normal weight subjects perceived themselves as obese, and often the reasons for the perception of obesity were comparisons with others or with themselves in the past. The scores of EAT-26 in those who perceived themselves as obese were higher than the scores in those who did not. Those who perceived themselves as obese had a desire to become slim, were concerned about body shape at an early age, were concerned about dieting, had dieting experience, and were willing to increase daily exercise. These results indicated that incorrect perceptions about body shape have connection to a desire for thinness and dieting behavior.

We investigated the relationship between eating behavior measured by the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) and perception of body shape, examining the current physical status and ‘ideal’ physical parameters in females and males.