～03/31/2018
Team Leader
Hiroaki Tanaka (Professor of Faculty of Sports and Health Science , Director of Institute for Physical Activity)

Slow Jogging, as advocated by team leader Professor Hiroaki Tanaka, is a method of jogging at slow speed, in fact, the same speed as walking. Even those who are not physically fit can perform it easily and for a long time without fatigue. In 2009, the activity was tested and introduced in the TV program NHK"Tameshite Gatten".

Slow Jogging has been found to cure lifestyle diseases (e.g., hypertension or diabetes) in addition to dieting and improving physical strength, and is used for rehabilitation of cardiac patients and prevention of knee osteoarthritis. Since exercise activates the immune function and brain function, it is also expected to be effective in preventing dementia.

We will apply our knowledge and efforts to further popularize Slow Jogging.

One of these efforts is the three-day "Health Tourism" program. We will cooperate with food companies, travel agencies, sports clubs and corporate health insurance associations, etc. to develop programs combining exercise, meals and sightseeing.

The effects of the program are measured at the individual level by cardiopulmonary function (exercise stress test), skeletal muscle mass, body fat mass, etc.; at the group (region) level, it is verified by the decreasing number of people suffering from lifestyle diseases and decreasing medical bills. In addition, the effectiveness of this industry-academia collaboration will be examined in terms of the number of participants in Health Tourism and the number of employees engaged in it.