STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING HEALTH AND REDUCING MEDICAL EXPENSES IN JAPAN USING PURPOSE IN LIFE/IKIGAI, MODERATE EXERCISE, AND A WELL-BALANCED DIET
*Riichiro Ishida
ABSTRACT
[Purpose] This study attempted to clarify correlations of age, life
expectancy, and anxiety to disease, mortality, and medical expenses in
consideration of the modern daily lifestyle in Japan. [Methods] Time
series data for each variable were collected from Japanese public
institutes, such as the Japanese government. One-sample t-tests,
Wilcoxon tests, and Kendall correlation analyses were performed to
clarify differences and correlations between each variable. [Results]
Having external sources of happiness, including a “happy family
circle” and “meeting and discussing ideas with friends and
acquaintances” was found to be significantly more related to higher
levels of happiness compared to internal sources of happiness,
including “devotion to study and culture” and “devotion to hobby and sports” (p<0.001).
Having internal sources was related to significantly more happiness than work (p<0.001).
Satisfaction with the amount of materials, food, and rest were each significantly higher than
dissatisfaction for each corresponding item (p<0.001). Regular exercise, steps per day,
skipping breakfast, vegetable consumption, and legumes consumption were all poorer than
the standards proposed by Japanese public institutes (p<0.001 in all tests). Lack of sleep
tended to be greater than standard values proposed by Japanese public institutes (p=0.055).
Age, life expectancy, and anxiety were positively correlated with number of patients,
proportion of mortalities, and medical expenses. [Conclusion] We suggest that people should
establish “purpose in life/Ikigai” related to internal sources of happiness, which are more
stable than external sources, and then an effective way to cope with stress. This process
should be combined with moderate aerobic exercise and eating a well-balanced diet. Doing so
may contribute to decreasing anxiety and to a decreased national healthcare burden.
Keywords: stress, disease, evolutionary medicine, prefrontal lobe function, purpose in life/Ikigai, epigenome changes.
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