Promoting Stair Climbing as an Exercise Routine among Healthy Older Adults Attending a Community-Based Physical Activity Program.

Stair climbing provides a feasible opportunity for increasing physical activity (PA) in daily living. The purpose of this study was to examine the daily walking and stair-climbing steps among healthy older adults (age: 74.0 ± 4.

Validity and reproducibility of a novel method for time-course evaluation of diet-induced thermogenesis in a respiratory chamber.

We developed a novel method for computing diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) in a respiratory chamber and evaluated the validity and reproducibility of the method. We hypothesized that DIT may be calculated as the difference between postprandial energy expenditure (EE) and estimated EE (sum of basal metabolic rate and physical activity (PA)-related EE). The estimated EE was derived from the regression equation between EE from respiration and PA intensity in the fasting state.

Effects of intermittent physical activity on fat utilization over a whole day.

Purpose: We examined whether continuous and intermittent physical activity (PA) differentially influence fat utilization.

Methods: This was a randomized crossover study. Nine healthy young male participants performed two 39-h (two nights, three days) PA sessions (continuous and intermittent exercise) in a respiratory chamber to measure energy expenditure (EE) and substrate oxidation.

Obese Japanese adults with type 2 diabetes have higher basal metabolic rates than non-diabetic adults.

Several cross-sectional studies in Pima Indians and Caucasians have indicated that obese individuals with type 2 diabetes have a higher basal metabolic rate (BMR) than healthy, obese individuals. However, no study has investigated this comparison in Japanese subjects, who are known to be susceptible to type 2 diabetes due to genetic characteristics. Thirty obese Japanese adults with pre-type 2 diabetes (n=7) or type 2 diabetes (n=13) or without diabetes (n=10) participated in this study.

Validity of predictive equations for basal metabolic rate in Japanese adults.

Many predictive equations for basal metabolic rate (BMR) based on anthropometric measurements, age, and sex have been developed, mainly for healthy Caucasians. However, it has been reported that many of these equations, used widely, overestimate BMR not only for Asians, but also for Caucasians. The present study examined the accuracy of several predictive equations for BMR in Japanese subjects.

Validity of physical activity indices for adjusting energy expenditure for body size: do the indices depend on body size?

To express intensity of physical activity, energy expenditure is often divided by either body weight, resting metabolic rate, or fat-free mass. These calculations are used widely as the physical activity index. However, it is unclear how body size influences the valid estimation of intensity of various kinds of activities.