Cultural Exercise Of Japan Played A Long Role In Increasing The Average Life Expectancy From 42 years In 1920 To Current 84.91 Years

Nov, 2022 - By SMI

Japan being 2^nd on list of world’s top longevity countries, Radio Taiso has been in practice for near about a century in many work places and schools imbibing exercise in routine.

Officially called kokumin hoken taiso (National Health Exercise) the time it came in action in Japan became famous by its nickname Rajio Taiso (Radio Taiso)

As the name suggests Radio Taiso is set of exercise instructed daily on air at 6:30 a.m. on the Japan Broadcasting corporation, NHK. One can also follow up telecast on T.V. or may easily find demo videos on internet.

Radio Taiso is composed of 13 easy to perform calisthenic movements for duration of only 3 minutes over a recorded piano tune. It is a body weight exercise which involves stretching, rolling, bending in three phases as warm up, soft jumps and last cool down. These exercise targets on shoulder, legs, hips, back, pelvis. It aims in strengthening muscles, reducing back pain, improving blood circulation, adding flexibility and mobility and body balancing over time. Though no immediate effect or any negative impact to be seen but positive effect of energy addition and fatigue subtraction can be felt immediately.

According to survey held before pandemic, nearly 27 million Japanese people use to practice Radio Taiso in routine at least twice a week or more, which results in higher metabolic rate than those who do not. Also, younger body’s internal age than actual among elders. Overtime Radio Taiso lost its mass follower, lowering it to less frequently taught. But pandemic moved quarantined people to telecommunicate again and sync at a time, adapting Radio Taiso to be practiced on ZOOM.

Later a trial was conducted at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology in Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. The trial happened from April to May 2022 with a follow up assessment in September 2022. This was made in concern to study the greater benefits of Taiso programme for health- related quality of life (HR-QoL) in older adults with frailty in comparison to those who do not. The primary outcome of the study is the change in mental domain along with secondary outcomes including physical fitness, posture, cognition, neurotrophic factors, activity and sleeping conditions.