The Japanese Association of School Health

Material

ISSN ONLINE : 1880-2400

[School Health Vol.4, 1-8, 2008]

The Relationship among Class Evaluation, Health Condition and Lifestyle of College Students in Japan

Hiroharu Kamioka*, Etsuro Tanaka**, Yoshiteru Mutoh***, Rieko Aikawa****,
Ayako Yago****, Mina Kaneoya****, Ryosuke Takahashi***** and Takuya Honda***

  • *Laboratory of Physical and Health Education, Faculty of Regional Environment Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture
  • 1-1-1 Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8502 Japan
  • h1kamiok@nodai.ac.jp
  • **Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Applied Bio-Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture
  • 1-1-1 Sakuragaoka, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8502 Japan
  • ***Department of Physical and Health Education, Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo
  • 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033 Japan
  • ****Junior College Division, Otsuma Women痴 University
  • 12 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8357 Japan
  • *****Physical Education and Medicine Research Center
  • 6-1 Nunoshita, Tomi-City, Nagano 389-0402 Japan

[Received October 15, 2007 ; Accepted February 4, 2008]

Keywords:
university, faculty development, sleep time, fatigue

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Abstracts

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how sleep time, ingestion of breakfast, commute time, and physical and mental health condition immediately before attending lectures influenced the students’ evaluation of morning classes in Japanese universities/colleges. In the first semester of 2007, students (n=100, average age, 19) in the second year of University A who took the "Bioethics course," those (n=31, average age, 21) in the fourth year of University A who took the "Nutritional Epidemiology course," and those (n=49, average age, 19) in the second year of Junior College B who took the "Physiology of Nutrition course" were used as target subjects. Evaluation was conducted using a questionnaire in every session. Questions listed in the questionnaire were 1) sleep time; 2) whether or not a student had breakfast; 3) commute time; 4) physical and mental health condition at the moment (on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 was worst condition and 10 was best condition); and 5) evaluation of class (on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 was worst class and 10 was best class). There were significantly positive correlations between college students’ physical and mental health conditions immediately before they attended a class and their class evaluation. Correlation coefficients were observed between the evaluation of class and physical and mental health condition in the following: overall Bioethics sessions (r=0.140, p<0.05), overall Physiology of Nutrition sessions (r=0.413, p<0.05), and overall Nutritional Epidemiology sessions (r=0.385, p<0.05). A high value must be attached to health education, including maintenance of college students’favorable lifestyles, for effective classes and the promotion of faculty development in universities/colleges.

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