Effects of Long-term Physical Training on the Bearers of a Float during the Nagasaki Kunchi Festival.

Objective The Nagasaki Kunchi Festival is one of the most famous festivals in Nagasaki. The bearers the floats that are used in this festival undergo long-term training for the performance. However, there have not been any studies on the effects of this training on the health of the float bearers. Methods Thirty-four men ranging in age from 20 to 49 years (mean age: 35.77.6 years) were included in the study. We examined the following parameters before and after the training: body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, muscle volume, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse rate (PR), pulse pressure (PP), bearing power, arterial pressure volume index (API), and arterial velocity pulse index (AVI). Results For all participants, the BW, BMI, body fat percentage, and PR were significantly decreased, and the muscle volume and bearing power were significantly increased after the training; however, there were no significant changes in the SBP, DBP, PP, API, or AVI. In the participants with hypertension, in addition to decreases in BW, BMI, body fat percentage, PR, and PP, the SBP, DBP, and API were significantly decreased after the training. Conclusion Training for bearing a float during Nagasaki Kunchi effectively improved the body structure of all participants and reduced the BP and API in participants with hypertension.

Effect of physical exercise training on health-related quality of life and exercise tolerance in patients with left ventricular dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES: The improvement of exercise tolerance and quality of life (QOL) are essential in the treatment of patients with heart failure. The influence of physical exercise training on QOL was investigated in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. METHODS: Health-related QOL was evaluated using the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 Health Status Survey (SF-36) before and 3 months after individualized exercise training determined by cardiopulmonary exercise testing in 65 patients. The 44 patients who could carry out more than two-thirds of the prescribed exercise were classified into two groups: Group A (11 patients)with left ventricular ejection fraction < 40% and Group B (33 patients) with left ventricular ejection fraction > or = 40%. The remaining 21 patients served as the control group. RESULTS: The mean value of SF-36 improved significantly with exercise training only in Group A (50.8 +/- 25.3 to 62.1 +/- 22.2, p < 0.05). Group A also had an increase in peak Vo2 (18.9 +/- 3.5 to 21.4 +/- 3.6 ml/min/kg, p < 0.005) and a decrease in brain natriuretic peptide. The 24 patients (9 in Group A, 15 in Group B) with improved SF-36 values after the exercise training showed a negative correlation between the change of the mental component summary and the peak Vo2 (r = - 0.606, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Exercise training improves both the QOL, especially the mental component, and the exercise tolerance in patients with left ventricular dysfunction.