Tomohiko Murase

This study aimed to examine age difference of walking time within a frame and on the balance beam with and without obstacle in preschool girls. The study examined 162 preschool girls ages 4–6. The subjects walked to and fro twice on the course and the balance beam under three conditions: no, low, and high obstacles. Three-way ANOVA was used to ascertain the mean differences of each test, age, and obstacle condition for each walking time. A significant interaction was found between test–age factors and test–obstacle factors. Multiple comparisons showed that walking times were shorter on the course than on the balance beam for all age groups and obstacle conditions. Walking times for the course and balance beam tasks were shorter for 5- and 6-year-old girls than 4-year-old girls. Walking times on the balance beam with no obstacle (shortest) and a low obstacle were shorter than that with a high obstacle (longest). Walking times on the course were also shorter for 6-year-old girls than for 4.5-year-old girls. Walking times on the balance beam were shorter for the 6-year-old girls than the 5-year-olds, shorter for the 5-year- olds than the 4.5- and 5-year-olds, and shorter for the 4.5- and 5-year-olds than 4- to 4.5-year-olds. In conclusion, in-course walking is faster than balance beam walking regardless of age or the presence of an obstacle in girls. Furthermore, improvements in the ability to complete both of these walking tasks may differ with age in girls.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the multiple relationships between body proportion,physical fitness, and daily life time of young children, using three years of longitudinal data. [Method] The study subjects comprised 148 young children from whom longitudinal data were collected for three years.We collected data on body proportions, physical fitness, and daily life time. [Results and Discussion] The results confirmed that the change in physical fitness score was the highest in the obesity trend group, followed by the maintaining body proportion group, and that this change was the least in the slim trend group. Regarding the daily life time, significant difference was observed in the change of the obesity index by the time spent on TV and video systems. Further, the time spent by the children playing on a PC and video games was marginally significant. It was also confirmed that the time spent on TV and video systems was shorter among children in the slim trend group. Our findings suggest that the improvement of daily life time, desirable change in body proportions, and improvement in physical fitness might be affected by multiple activities related to the mutual factor.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of physical fitness, lifestyle, and appearance of unidentified complaints in young children exhibiting hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. [Method] The subjects of this study were 628 young children. We analyzed 21 items related to children's behavior, lifestyle, and unidentified complaints, and 5 physical fitness items. We used these items to compare normal young children and young children exhibiting hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. [Results and Discussion] The proportion of young children exhibiting hyperactivity and impulsive behavior was slightly larger than that in the preceding research. From the results, it seems that a considerable number of children who were not medically diagnosed exhibited hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. In addition, it was confirmed that the lifestyle of these young children was significantly unhealthier than that of normal young children. We think that young children need assistance in order to ensure both appropriate behavior and lifestyle. It is necessary to examine the influence of these behavior and lifestyle upon physical fitness in older children.

Child care workers and guardians often ask. "What is the ideal degree of physical development in young children?" However, the report concerning the degree of development and a criterion index for the young children is rather limited.<br>The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of the degree of development for a year throughout the years during which the physical fitness of the children was observed on the basis of follow-up data (three-years observation period ; children between ages three to five). Additionally, a criterion based on the degree of development was prepared.<br>The subjects of this study were 613 young children (boys : 308 ; girls : 305) with standard physiques. We administered physical tests comprising seven types of exercises (grip strength, standing long jump, softball throw, 25-meter run, side-step, upright hand standing time, and sitting trunk flexion) in order to understand the characteristics of the children's physical fitness ; the tests were conducted every November for three years for children between ages three to five. The degree of development for a year, that is, from age three to four (D3-4) and age four to five (D4-5) was used for the analysis. To conduct a statistical analysis of the data, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, a two-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons (Tukey's HSD test) were employed.<br>The analysis revealed that D3-4 and D4-5 were not highly relative in all tests (boys : −0.400∼−0.002 ; girls : −0.410∼−0.092). Additionally, all had negative correlation coefficients. This suggests that there was no guarantee that more development was observed in D4-5 even when a high degree of development was observed in D3-4. The physical activity custom of promoting development is necessary in any age level. The consequence of ANOVA indicated that D3-4 is larger than D4-5 in significance with regard to the 25-meter run, side-step, and standing long jump. On the other hand, D4-5 is larger than D3-4 in grip strength, softball throw, and upright hand standing time. These results were identical for both the boys and girls. A significant difference was not admitted in sitting trunk flexion.

[Purpose] We examined the appropriate physical fitness level related to lifestyle and motor ability for kindergarten children. [Method] The subjects were 152 kindergarten children. The measurement items were physical activity (7 days) which was measured by pedometer, a fitness test (9 items), and a lifestyle questionnaire. [Results] The weekday average walking steps were 11,482&plusmn;4,065 steps in a day (Boys : 12,354&plusmn;4,308, Girls : 10,742&plusmn;3,693), and half of the daily steps were counted during kindergarten activities in a day. The kindergarten children who have good lifestyles walked 12,531&minus;13,558 steps in a day. The motor ability of the kindergarten children who had taken more than 13,000 steps daily was significantly better than that of other children. However, we should pay attention to the difference of the average steps of each school year because the result of the analysis of covariance for school year was not significant. The motor ability of the kindergarten children who had taken more than 6,500 steps after kindergarten activity was also significantly better. [Discussion] The results suggested that more than 13,000 steps daily, and more than 6,500 steps taken after kindergarten activity, constitute an appropriate level of physical activity for kindergarten children.

体性感覚は随意運動の遂行に重要な役割を果たすが，運動発達の観点から発育発達期にある集団を対象とした研究や加齢変化の解明を試みた研究は限られている．そのため，幼児期の運動発達の特徴を理解する目的で，体性感覚に由来する力量の知覚に焦点を当て，幼児の諸特性を考慮した測定および評価方法を考案した．この方法を適用して明らかにされた知見を整理・解説するとともに，改めてこの種の研究の必要性や問題点などを再考した．