Beyond epidemiology: field studies and the physiology laboratory as the whole world

There is no exercise training regimen broadly available in the field to increase physical fitness and prevent lifestyle-related diseases in middle-aged and older people. We have developed interval walking training (IWT) repeating five or more sets of 3 min fast walking at 70% peak aerobic capacity for walking (w ) per day with intervening 3 min slow walking at 40% w , for 4 days week(1), for 5 months. Moreover, to determine w in individuals and also to measure their energy expenditure even while incline walking, we have developed a portable calorimeter. Further, to instruct subjects on IWT even if they live remotely from the trainers, we have developed e-Health Promotion System. This transfers individual energy expenditure during IWT stored on the meter to a central server through the internet; it sends back the achievement to individuals along with advice generated automatically by the sever according to a database on 4000 subjects. Where we found that 5 months of IWT increased physical fitness and improved the indices of lifestyle-related diseases by 10-20% on average. Since our system is run at low cost with fewer staff for more subjects, it enables us to develop exercise prescriptions appropriate for individuals.