Businesses cash in on metabolic syndrome

By Junko Suzuki

TOKYO —

Companies offering programs aimed at reducing metabolic syndrome are making headway in anticipation of the multibillion yen market likely to be generated from the introduction of obligatory physical checkups and health counseling in April.

People aged 40-74 are required to take medical examinations to check for signs of excessive internal fat, high blood pressure and a high blood sugar level and to receive health guidance if necessary. Such symptoms can indicate a lifestyle-related illness and if untreated increase the risks of cardiovascular disease, strokes and diabetes.

A number of Japanese companies are offering programs to combat metabolic syndrome against the backdrop of estimates that the market for services could reach more than 100 billion yen.

Tanita Health Link Inc runs a program called ‘‘Karada Karute’’ (body chart) to help individuals improve their health while enjoying themselves.

For an initial fee of 2,000 yen and a monthly fee of 1,200 yen, the company provides members with a 24-month course that employs a body composition meter, which simultaneously gauges a person’s weight and body fat, a pedometer, which records the number of steps a person takes, and a device designed to store measured data for infrared communication.

Such data are transmitted daily to a database via the Internet. People enrolled in the program receive dietary advice based on the data and can also generate a graph of their data.

Yasunobu Sakai of Tanita said, ‘‘In order to stay healthy, it is important not only to reduce weight but to maintain a balance between muscle and fat.’’

Tanita also has an online events page that allows members to compete on a walking course in the virtual world by entering data on the number of steps they have taken each day.

Sakai said Tanita is planning to introduce a points system to encourage members to continue battling metabolic syndrome. He said the company is also considering launching a service to utilize members’ registered data in conjunction with sports clubs, medical institutions and corporations.

JTB Corp, Japan’s major travel agency, is promoting health tourism. In April, it will start offering tour plans to help men improve their health while visiting the Kii Mountain Range, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Participants will stay in the Shirahama hot spring resort in Wakayama Prefecture and take courses on metabolic syndrome and spiritual concentration.

They will trek on the ancient Kumano road in a mountainous area with three famous shrines that straddle Wakayama and Mie prefectures. Participants will set personal goals at the outset, such as reducing weight by a certain amount or giving up smoking.

The purpose of the program is for participants to engage in exercise and initiate lifestyle changes.

Participants will also receive regular e-mails from people they met on the tour asking if they are continuing to pursue their objectives and three months after the trip they will be asked if they achieved their goals.

JTB conducted a tour in January to study the feasibility of health tourism and received a favorable reaction from participants, who said they had continued the daily exercise routine they learned during the trip.

Health promotion programs are also being considered as part of welfare services, Nobuyoshi Takahashi of the Health Tourism Institute said.

‘‘We’ll begin with specially designed programs for corporations,’’ he said.

8 Comments

Desiderata1967 at 11:07 PM JST - 26th March

This is only new in Japan.

http://www.wombdr.com and http://www.fatshock.com have been in business for a couple of years dealing with metabolic syndrome.
umbrella at 08:00 AM JST - 27th March

If the government really wants to improve the nation's health, cut down on the insane working hours. And ban smoking in all public places plus raise taxes so that cancer sticks cost Y1000 a packet. All the rest of these "measures"is just useless window dressing.
Piglet at 08:39 AM JST - 27th March

... and stop using the Newspeak expression "Metabolic Syndrom"!!! Both in English and in Japanese, there are proper ways to describe it: obesity / 肥満 or simply "overweight" for a more trivial word.
kimigano at 10:13 AM JST - 27th March

"Metabolic Syndrome" is not English. No English-language news source uses made-up Japanese English terms. It is correctly called "obesity" in English.

You don't call a cell phone a keitai in the news, right? Things need to be translated into English.
pathat at 11:46 AM JST - 27th March

kimigano-It`s used differently by the average Japanese simply as a substitute for "debu", but it is English.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_syndrome
presto345 at 01:13 PM JST - 27th March

Great to hear about the creation of a new business which may actually have a beneficial effect on people's health. Healthier people, lower health costs, which benefits society as a whole. Metabolic Syndrome is a little more than just obesity, and therefore it is a perfect term to describe the symptoms. Moreover, Japanese people identify with this term very well.
Nessie at 02:11 PM JST - 27th March

"Metabolic syndrome" is English and it's distinct from obesity, but it's crappy newspeak and not properly descriptive. Metabolism is something everone has and needs. It's like saying you have "breathing syndrome." Does that mean too much breathing? Too little breathing? Irregular breathing? A collection of irregular breathing symptoms? A collection of heavy-breathing action figures? A collection of heavy-breathing prank phone calls?

Even worse, the American Heart Association seems to suufer from definite article syndrome on this one: "The metabolic syndrome has become increasingly common." "The" metabolic syndrome? WTF is up with that?!?
Ah_so at 10:08 PM JST - 27th March

"“The” metabolic syndrome? WTF is up with that?!?"

Couldn't agree more - it upsets me to see the English language under attack from such garbage. It is PC really - "obese" is one of the last perjoritive terms still in common use, unlike "cripple" for example and they are trying to do away with it.